


Camembert Cupid

by Perhapsormaybe



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Humor, Power Switch, Romance, alya and nino also attempt matchmaking, everyone is in everyone else's way, in which everyone is oblivious, love square, probable reveal fic eventually, why am i like this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-11
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-19 16:23:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5973988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perhapsormaybe/pseuds/Perhapsormaybe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Plagg has known that Marinette is Ladybug for some time now. And he's finally had it with her and Adrien's inability to see what's in front of them. With Tikki's help will he pull it off? Or are Adrien and Marinette just doomed to be oblivious?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "These two are idiots"

**Author's Note:**

> First off, thank you to the fiancé for the name of the toy store as well as the title of this story. I do not speak French and am not good at titles. I haven't decided if this one's going to be a happy story or an angst. Let's find out together, shall we?

“Until next time, then, my Lady,” Chat said as he placed a kiss on Ladybug's outstretched hand. She snatched her hand back from him, pretending to look annoyed. At least, he hoped she was pretending. He didn't have time to ask – both had only seconds before their respective Kwamis were about to run out of energy.

That night's Akuma had been particularly tough. A beekeeper had been angry at someone who had accidentally startled his bees. He'd been Akumatized to become The Bee Hive and had attracted all of the bees in Paris to him, or it had certainly felt that way to both Chat and Ladybug. Both had been stung multiple times over the course of the battle, finally winning when Ladybug's lucky charm – a Bee Smoker - had set the bees all to sleep, allowing her to remove and destroy the Bee Hive's hat, which had housed his Akuma. It would have been a lot faster if she or Chat Noir had really known anything about bee keeping themselves. They had rushed away from the scene together to a typical meet up spot – one of the roofs of an abandoned home.

Chat ducked behind the chimney stack to change back, allowing Ladybug to decide whether she would change in the open or if she had enough time to get somewhere with cover. She trusted Chat not to look, but she could never be certain who could be hiding around a corner. Her earrings beeped one more time, making the decision for her. She did not have time to find a covering. _So much for that..._

“Umm..Chat?” She called out as soon as she found herself detransformed. 

From the other side of the chimney, Adrien resisted the urge to come back out to see her. “Yes, my lady?” _She doesn't want to know who I am_ , he reminded himself. _Or let me know who she is._

“Please go out another way. I...I changed back a little faster than I thought I would.”

Adrien bit his bottom lip, considering. Plagg floated near his face, studying the boy. “You could just go talk to her.” the kwami suggested. Adrien waved Plagg away. “What? You could.” His voice suddenly changed to whining. “And I'm tired. You owe me a whole block of cheese. Or a wheel. A _really_ big wheel.”

“She asked me not to,” he hissed. “And I'll get you some when we get home, just tell your stomach to be quiet for a minute.” He grabbed the kwami out of midair and set the cat like creature on his left shoulder to allow him time to rest. 

“Chat?” Marinette implored. 

“I understand. I'll just wait here a while. Mine wore off, too.”

“Oh. Okay. I'll see you next time,” Marinette said, waving even though he couldn't see her. “C'mon, Tikki,” she cupped her hands for Tikki to fall into. The kwami gave a small, grateful nod. “We'll get you some cookies as soon as we get home, I promise.” She glanced around, studying the building before sighing. “Next time I gotta pick a building with a fire escape.”

 

“What happened?” Alya demanded, dropping her book bag beside Marinette and sliding into her seat next to her best friend. She crossed her arms and stared at Marinette pointedly. 

“With what?”

In response, Alya typed a few key strokes into her phone, holding it up triumphantly. A video loaded on the screen - Ladybug was fighting off a whole swarm of bees as whomever had taken the video was running away from the scene, shouting about being stung even as he filmed. “You're covered in bee stings! You know what that tells me?”

“Uhhh....” Marinette's eyes went wide as she tried desperately to think up a believable lie. 

“It means you were there for a Ladybug sighting and you didn't tell me!” Alya elbowed her before returning her attention to the video. “I guess you must have been out near that area when the attack happened?” Marinette nodded, her mouth slightly agape at her slight bit of fortune that her friend had developed a cover story on her behalf. After all, she and Chat hadn't been able to get all of the bystanders out of the way immediately, some of them must have also had bee stings.

“Adrien! What happened, man?!” Adrien had just slid in next to Nino. He, too, was covered in stings. 

“Don't even start,” Adrien warned him, sighing. “My father already really let me have it in a video chat this morning. 'Fashion models do not get bee stings on their faces'. I guess it would have been okay anywhere else...” he started to pull homework out of his bag, frowning for a moment as he tried to push Plagg back into it. Plagg looked indignant for a moment before purposely pushing one of Adrien's books out in retaliation. “Knock it off, or no cheese for you!” Adrien hissed. 

“What was that?” Nino asked. He had been turned around, about to say hello to Marinette and Alya when Plagg had started acting up. 

“Nothing,” Adrien snapped back up to attention, one hand going to the back of his head. 

“Hey, you and Marinette have matching marks!” Nino smirked. 

Alya's eyes widened. “You two were together!” she pointed an accusing finger first at Marinette and then at Adrien. “You saw Ladybug and you didn't even let me know!” She waited a moment before giving Marinette a knowing smirk. Marinette shook her head firmly. _No, Alya, I was not with Adrien. I wish I had been, though..._

Adrien had missed Marinette and Alya's earlier conversation, so he felt more than a little lost. He had first thought he was being accused of being Chat Noir and had been ready to go on the defensive before Alya had jumped to a completely wrong conclusion. 

“I didn't see her,” Adrien smiled pleasantly, turning in his seat to see Alya from a better angle. “I didn't see Marinette there, either. So you got stung a few times, too, huh? Yeah, I was trying really hard to get away from those bees myself.”

“Y---ye---yeah,” Marinette choked out. “Bees. You know. They fly and ….bats? Uh. Bats. Also fly. You know?”

“Oookaaay,” Adrien said slowly, giving her a reassuring nod before returning his attention back to the front of the class. They only had a few minutes before class was about to begin. Marinette stared after him, bumping her left fist against her head multiple times before Alya caught it and made her stop.

Plagg had heard the conversation and was now shaking his head. _These two are going to be the death of me. I may give him bad luck sometimes, but I don't think I rattled his brain so much he can't see what's in front of him._ He opened the backpack – Adrien pushed him back in but Plagg popped right back up again. This time Adrien didn't seem to notice. Class had started and everyone was furiously writing notes with the exception of a few of the more lazy students. He noted that Sabrina was scribbling on two pages at once to do her own work as well as Chloe's. But that wasn't his target.

No, the target was the purse propped up at Marinette's feet. The kwami rose slowly up from Adrien's bag, making sure to check around every few seconds to see if he had been noticed. His timing apparently was perfect, and he made a quick zoom to the purse, opening it and diving in. Marinette's head shot up as the clasp opened, but when she noticed the purse was still there she assumed she had been hearing things. She shrugged and went back to her work.

The purse was smaller than the bag Plagg often found himself in (or the locker he had to sit in when he was planning on eating – Adrien wouldn't tolerate Camembert in the classroom as his teachers most certainly wouldn't) so it was no problem to find Tikki – it helped that he could see in the dark, though.

She was munching on a cookie ( _Wait, her chosen lets her eat in the classroom?!_ Plagg thought bitterly). She looked ready to spit it out when she saw Plagg, at least once she had figured out what the form near her was – ladybugs don't have the great night vision cats do. She gulped down her cookie before rushing over to hug him. 

“Not here. Your girl...Marinette?” she nodded. “She'd probably notice us moving around too much in here. Even if she doesn't notice other things that are right in front of her...” he added the last part with a roll of his eyes. “Meet me tonight when she goes to sleep.”

“Where at?”

Plagg actually hadn't thought that far ahead. Where could two kwamis talk without being interrupted and without anyone seeing anything strange. “...That's a good question.”

Tikki smiled. “A toy shop would probably be safe. We could hide among the stuffed animals if anyone came in. I believe there's one just a block away.”

“Oh. Yes, that will work.”

 

“What did you need?” Tikki kept her voice down. It had been easy to slip through a mail slot into Cour de Récré, the biggest toy store in Paris, but she still didn't want to be caught. She also wanted to get to the point – there was no telling when there might be a new Akuma and she didn't want to leave Marinette on her own for too long, even if the girl was asleep for now.

Plagg decided not to beat around the bush. “They're idiots.”

“I'm...I'm sorry?” Tikki blinked before sitting down on a nearby teddy bear. Plagg followed her lead, sitting down on a stuffed lion before he slipped off and fell into a pile of assorted plushes. He pushed himself out and perched on the lion again, this time more carefully.

“I mean they don't see what's in front of ---do you not see it either?” Plagg was incredulous. “Tikki, you're smarter than that,” he scoffed.

“I've had my suspicions,” she admitted, “If this is about what I think it's about?” she glanced around nervously. She wasn't worried about getting caught, but she felt guilty discussing Marinette, especially as she had never told the girl about her theory. 

Plagg snorted. “All right, the girl you chose was Marinette. The boy I chose is Adrien Agreste.”

“That's what I thought,” Tikki admitted. "And Marinette is not an idiot, and I don't think Adrien is either. They just...haven't seen it yet."

“And you didn't tell her?”

“You didn't tell Adrien!” she pointed out. He nodded in admittance, but closed both eyes as he considered something. Tikki had known Plagg for longer than she was sure she could even put into numbers. So she knew that look and knew what it meant. “I'm not so sure we should get involved. I know they love each other and keep missing each other, but I don't think we should push.”

“It was funny at first,” Plagg said, smirking. His eyes were still closed. Which Tikki knew was never a good sign as it meant he would soon be working on a plan instead of his typical lazying about. “But now it's just getting annoying. I had to hear seven different poems on Valentine's day. I even gave him the one Marinette wrote and he realized it was Ladybug's but didn't put it together!” His eyes snapped open, the slits narrowing further as his mind raced.

Tikki knew it was typically best to try to talk Plagg out of his more wild ideas, but she also knew just how difficult it was. And she had also been tempted to say something to Marinette ever since she had first started to think Adrien might be Chat Noir, somewhere around Marinette's second week of fighting crime as Ladybug. She just thought it was better to let nature take its course...

“They both had bee stings and didn't put it together,” Plagg was waving his arms violently back and forth in the air as he listed offenses, “She's the only one in his class with that hair color and hair style and when he's combined with me he has cat senses and didn't notice they smell the same! They show up late on the same days, coincidentally show up in the same places...there are so many clues and they've. Missed. Every. One,” he punctuated the last few words by banging his head against the wall. 

Tikki giggled at him before flying to his side and putting an arm around him. “Plagg, I don't think I've ever seen you care so much about one of your chosen!” 

“That's not what this is about,” Plagg sulked. “He's just love sick and it's annoying me and sometimes he forgets to buy me cheese cause he's too busy trying to figure out Ladybug's identity.”

“And yet you haven't told him,” She smiled knowingly.

“Well...I didn't want to break him.” Plagg said lamely, crossing his arms and refusing to make eye contact. “It might blow his mind too much to find this out too quickly. It will have to be slow and it might be better if they figured it out themselves, but I don't have time to wait the six centuries it will take them on their own.”

“So what are you proposing we do?”

Plagg hung his head before lifting his eyes up and making eye contact. “Tikki...I think we have to play matchmaker.”


	2. Schemers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scheming Starts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos! They are greatly appreciated! I know there was a Valentine's episode but we're just gonna assume they live in one of those worlds were time passes and no one gets any older so I can have a Valentine's theme to match the whole cupid thing.

Tikki and Plagg had only begun to scheme. Alya, on the other hand, had been scheming in regards to her best friend and her friend's crush since the first time Marinette had set eyes on Adrien. She prided herself on being an understanding friend, but even _her_ patience was beginning to wear thin. 

The Saturday morning was bright and clear and would have been perfect weather for the park – had Marinette not canceled on her at the last minute once again. Oh, sure, Alya had come to the park anyway, but her plan was ruined. Her only consolation was that Adrien had also bailed, leaving her alone with Nino. But of course both Adrien and Marinette missing was a problem, as today was supposed to be phase one of Nino and Alya's attempts to push their friends together.

“We could lock them in a panther cage,” Nino suggested, stretching out before sitting on the park bench. “Worked for us,” he pulled his backpack off his shoulder and opened it, retrieving a cookie and handing it to his girlfriend. She snatched it from his hand and took a vicious bite. “Are you all right, dude?” He motioned for her to take a seat beside him, but she ignored him, pacing back and forth as she continued to savagely munch the cookie, crumbs flying everywhere. 

“Haven't you been chatting up Marinette to Adrien?”

“I'm not supposed to know who she has a crush on,” Nino reminded her, once again gesturing for Alya to take a seat beside him. This time she did, collapsing into the bench and leaning forward, her hands on her knees. 

“I didn't give a you name!”

“I know, paying attention for more than a second is all you need to see who Marinette has a crush on,” he chuckled. “Don't know how Adrien doesn't see it. Dude's usually smarter than that.”

“Valentine's day is coming up and I'm not seeing her alone for it again,” she insisted. “She has to finally tell him.” She considered something momentarily, then turned her attention to Nino. He was surprised to see just how swiftly she'd switched from looking irritated to her sudden worried expression. “Do you think he feels the same?”

“Uhhh...” Nino suddenly refused to make eye contact. Alya grabbed his face and forced it back in her direction. “He may have mentioned having a crush..”

“On Marinette?”

“On....” he coughed, trying to cover up what he was saying. 

“What was that?” Alya pulled his face closer.

“So bro never actually told me who it was, but I've seen pictures...they're all over his cell phone, even if he thinks I've never seen them...”

“And?”

“Uh...”

“Nino,” Alya released his face and adopted a sweet smile. She grabbed his hands and gave them a tight squeeze. The sudden affection made him more unsettled than her grabbing his face had. “Who are the pictures of?”

“...Ladybug.”

 

Ladybug was ready to pass out. Three Akumas in the span of three days, and it was not even close to evenly spaced – the last one had technically been a different day, only in that the previous attack had happened at eleven at night and the following at one in the morning. She was exhausted.

Chat Noir wasn't faring much better. He was actually thankful his bee stings were still visible as his father had barred him from any modeling shoots until they had completely healed, at least from his face. Even with the slight gain of time, he was perilously close himself to dropping down for a cat nap.

“Bigger they are, harder they fall, eh?” He joked. The last Akuma had been a boy who had been taunted for his height. His Akumatized form had been a giant, literally the size of the Eiffel Tower. It had taken toppling the tower over on top of him to slow him down and get the scarf that housed his Akuma off. Chat was definitely thankful Ladybug's powers also reset damage the pair had done as well, as he wasn't sure even _his_ father could afford to have the tower righted again.

“Right now I just want to fall,” Ladybug stifled a yawn.

“Into my arms?”

“Into my dreams,” she rolled her eyes. 

“Ah, better that it were into mine, my lady,” he tried to ignore the sound of his Miraculous beeping at him, but it was impossible. Especially as it was beeping in tune with Ladybug's earrings. “But I do agree that we need some rest. Hopefully the next Akuma sleeps in a little, eh?”

“Good night, Chat,” Ladybug said pointedly, pulling out her yo yo and sending herself flying through the air, back in whatever direction she had come from. Only moments after she had gone, Adrien felt Plagg release his transformation. Adrien frowned at his kwami, but set it on his shoulder to rest anyway. “I'm sure you could have held on a little longer.”

“Toppling a building takes lots of energy,” Plagg argued, stretching himself out before curling into a ball. 

“And a lot of cheese to restore your energy, I'm guessing?”

“Well, if you're offering,” Plagg smirked before closing his eyes. “But this time I need rest first. Cheese can wait.”

Adrien plucked the kwami off his shoulder and held Plagg before his face. “Are you all right? I've never heard you ask to wait on cheese,” Plagg felt himself touched at how worried Adrien sounded. “You're really that tired? I'm sorry, Plagg, I didn't realize we were over doing it.”

“No, no,” Plagg said dramatically, throwing his head back, “I was just doing my duty to save Paris. But I am tired. But when I wake up....some Camembert and maybe even some Brie might be nice?”

“Sure,” Adrien said as he returned Plagg to his shoulder for more rest. “We better get you home.”

 

Nino had been dragged back to Alya's house against his will. There were some instances when she'd done that and it had ended pleasantly, often times with a date and on one rare occasion even a kiss. But he knew that was not what would be happening this time. She had thrown him on her couch before running up by herself to her room. He glanced around the living room, feeling even more ill at ease than he usually did here. Her siblings weren't home and apparently neither was her mother. He studied the fluffy white carpeting, then the eggplant colored walls before giving up on finding something to be occupied with. He started to pull out his cell phone to look up if any of the directors he liked were working on anything interesting when he heard Alya shriek from upstairs.

“Alya? Are you all right?”

“GET UP HERE!”

He sighed before making his way up to her room. The last few times he'd been there the room had been immaculate, but as she hadn't had warning this time there were piled of dirty clothes in one corner. She shoved the pile into her closet and glared at Nino as though he'd said something about the mess. “It's cool, man. You should see my room.”

“I have. It's why we never go to your place,” she sat down at her computer chair and made a motion for Nino to join her. “Okay. So we know Adrien likes Ladybug.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that. Marinette's really cool, but it's kind of hard to compete with a super hero.”

“Ladybug _is_ awesome,” Alya admitted, clicking the icon on her computer monitor that directed to the Ladyblog. “But Marinette is even better. For one thing, she's a real girl. She's attainable. She's not having to run off every five minutes to go save the world.”

“No, she just runs off for odd errands she forgets until the last minute,” Nino chuckled. “Adrien, too. But what's your point?”

“What about Ladybug do you think he likes?”

“Alya, you can't make your friend change to fit with what Adrien would want her to be. Marintte's awesome how she is.”

“I know that better than anyone,” Alya said defensively. “What I mean is, what does Ladybug have that Marinette might also have? We could just kind of highlight that. Maybe he just has a type and it has nothing to do with Ladybug being a super hero?”

Nino tapped a finger to his lips, considering. “Oh! They have the same hairstyle!”

“I was thinking more personality, but that's at least a bit of a start. Go grab a chair,” she jerked her thumb over her shoulder, indicating where some clean clothes were piled over a bar stool. Nino removed the clothes and tossed them on the bed. “Pull it up to me. We're going to do some research.”

“You know, I have school work.”

“This is for our best friends.”

“Yeaaah...” Nino smirked. “I probably wasn't going to do the work anyway.”

 

“Do you remember when you thought Ladybug was _Chloe_?” Plagg asked from the dresser as Adrien changed his shirt. 

“Yes. I remember,” Adrien hung his head. “Especially since a certain kwami won't let me forget.”

Plagg sat up straight, cocking his head at the teenager. “And why did you even think that was possible?”

“Well it's not like I have any clues...”

“Hmm.” Plagg snorted. _No clues? Do you mean Marinette doesn't wear a flashing light that says 'I'm Ladybug'?_ He wished Tikki were there. She would never laugh at Adrien and Marinette's inability to see facts, but she would at least understand when Plagg made jokes. “There was the Valentine...”

“You keep saying. It wasn't signed.”

“The History book,”

“Could belong to anyone and isn't a guarantee that she goes to my school.”

“And what about her hair style?” Plagg offered, trying to keep the knowing smirk off his face. Adrien sat on the edge of his bed and put his hands on his knees, his eyes angled down at the floor.

“Could be a wig. It might change when she transforms. My hair changes a little bit when I do. I just feel I'd know her instantly if I met her, though. Even without the mask,” Adrien glanced up, a determined look on his face.

Plagg was torn between pity and laughing. In the end he compromised by letting out a chortle before going to land on Adrien's lap. “And since when,” Adrien asked, his eyes narrowing in the kwami's direction, “Do you care so much about this love stuff?”

“Eh, it can affect you, you know. And you said the Gorilla would start noticing if I watched soap operas when you aren't around so you cut me off,” Plagg jutted out his chin, letting it quiver. “I have nothing to entertain me! I'm bored!”

“Four Akuma attacks in two weeks and you're bored?”

“Don't you want me to help you?”

“Just my luck,” Adrien shook his head, “The literal embodiment of bad luck wants to help me out with girl troubles. And only because he's bored.”

“Well I don't see you making progress on your own,” Plagg crossed his arms. 

“All right. I don't see how you could hurt things, anyway. But no lying to Ladybug and no spying on her – we're not going to wait around to see her Miraculous wear off.” That had been Plagg's first though, actually, but he knew Adrien would never agree to it. Adrien continued. “And if we do figure it out, we're still respectful. I have to know she'd really be okay with me knowing.”

“Yes, yes,” Plagg nodded his head before extending a paw. Adrien took it between his thumb and forefinger and gave a gentle shake. 

“Good. We have a deal. Thank you.”

“No problem,” Plagg smiled as sweetly as he could, knowing the expression actually made his fangs stick out further. It was no matter. While he would follow Adrien's guidelines he felt no guilt knowing he might be playing outside the boundaries a little bit. _After all,_ he thought, watching Adrien log into the Ladyblog for what must have been the sixth time that day, _They need all the help they can get._


	3. Valentine's Approaches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Nino are still making comparisons. Marinette is just getting started on her own preparations, as is Adrien. And Plagg has an idea but Tikki isn't going to like it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all comments and kudos and Happy Valentine's! Though Valentine's factors into this story it's entirely unrealistic for me to have it done before then so I hope you'll forgive me. Ultimately I have no idea how long this story will be especially since I have only basics of the plot sketched out and don't yet know how I'll be ending it.

“So they have the same hair style,” Alya repeated for what felt like the thirtieth time. She was stalled. She had pulled up a program on her computer to create a Venn diagram, expecting some sort of overlap between her best friend and her personal hero. But glaring at her from the middle was the single word 'hair'. “Ugh, there has to be something else!” She considered a moment and dropped down another line before adding 'eye color' to the overlap on the circles.

“Heh, if it weren't for how different they are, you might actually think Marinette was Ladybug,” Nino joked. “Same hair and eye color, anyway.”

Alya crossed her arms. “We're here to be serious, Nino!” she minimized the Venn diagram and went back to the Ladyblog, pulling up different pictures and then closing them at random until she had one picture of Ladybug from each angle. “I think their heights are similar, too. What are the odds that it's just a physical attraction that Adrien has?”

Nino shrugged. 

“Great. He's your best friend, doesn't he tell you everything?” She didn't wait for an answer. “Marinette tells me everything.” 

“Maybe he just has a thing for yo yos?” 

“Are you going to be helpful?”

“I'm trying, dude!” Nino insisted. “But I've got nothing, really. He didn't actually tell me he had a crush on Ladybug, he's just got pictures plastered all over his phone, possibly even more photos than you do. I think he's got some shots of Ladybug you don't have yourself...”

Alya's eyes widened. “Do you think he'd send them to me? They might have some valuable information for figuring out -” she closed her eyes and shook her arms up and down a few times, trying to get herself out of reporter mode. “No, not right now. I'll ask him about those later. Marinette and Adrien are more important than Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Nino loaded a video on his phone of Ladybug flipping over an Akuma victim before landing in the splits. He chuckled to himself as Chat Noir pulled a sign reading “10/10” from seemingly nowhere. “Any chance Marinette's really flexible?”

“What?!”

“No, not in that kind of way! I just mean Ladybug does all this physical flipping stuff...like, splits and back flips, front flips and ...whatever that is,” he said indicating the screen where Ladybug had lifted Chat Noir and proceeded to throw him at the enemy. 

Alya chuckled. “Could you really picture Marinette just picking some guy up and throwing him?”

 

“All right,” Marinette sat down at her sewing machine and flipped open her sketch book to a recent design. “I can do this.” 

Tikki landed beside the sketch book and studied it for a moment. “Oh? Something for Adrien?”

Marinette nodded. “It's about to be Valentine's day. Last year I just gave him that card and I didn't even sign it, Tikki!” she knew she had been loudly lamenting that every day since last Valentine's, but she couldn't stress enough just how annoyed she was with herself. “Do you think he'll even like it? Stuffed animals for a teenage guy seem kind of ...silly.”

“Marinette, you are very talented,” Tikki floated up so her eyes were on an equal level with Marinette's. The kwami smiled gently at the young girl. “He will love anything you make for him, especially because you make it with love.”

“Thank you, Tikki,” Marinette bowed her head in the kwami's direction in thanks. Tikki's smile grew bigger. 

“However,” the kwami said, more than a little mischievously, “I would probably pick a cat instead of a hamster.”

“Oh, but I really like hamsters!”

“I know you do, but something tells me Adrien is a cat person. Remember, he wanted to know your opinions on Chat Noir? But...maybe pattern the heart in the middle with Ladybug's spots.”

“Hmm...” Marinette grabbed a pencil and erased most of the sketch, penciling Tikki's proposed design over her own. “That looks great, Tikki! Thank you!”

 

Adrien had broken six pencils and two pens now, and he was down to the only marker he could find. “Dear Lady...My lady....” he scratched through the words yet again. He sat at his computer desk with a scrap of paper in front of him as he tried once again to write Ladybug a poem. His waste basket was currently overflowing with discarded attempts. Plagg sat next to the current piece of paper, gorging himself on cheese and trying to find the situation interesting.

“Should you maybe try a different method this year?”

“Well, I can't buy her a stuffed animal or chocolates since I don't know when we'll meet up next. A teddy bear would probably just get destroyed before I could get to her and chocolates would melt...this is the only thing I could think of that I could get to her safely.”

“Hmm. Or you could just say it,” Plagg took a particularly large bite out of his cheese, pausing for a moment as he waited for it to clear all the way out of his throat. 

“Could you do that somewhere else? Sometimes your gluttony is a little much.”

“And sometimes your mooning is a little much,” Plagg returned with an indignant sniff. “I still think you should just tell her. And you shouldn't be transformed when you do it. Tell her as Adrien, not as Chat Noir.”

“And if she doesn't realize we're the same? I have a lot of girls in Paris who are 'in love' with me,” he rolled his eyes and used air quotes around the phrase. “Because they don't know me. They just see a picture they like and suddenly they just know we're meant to be.” He hated how conceited it sounded, but with the size of fan mail currently on his bed, he knew it was the truth. He was too polite to just throw them away and in fact would read each Valentine and try to respond to each one when he had the time. But they all boiled down to the same kind of message, with the exception of the one from last year he still hoped Ladybug had written him. 

“You think Ladybug is like those girls?” Plagg snorted, “Kwamis pick better than _that_ , I assure you. Well...the good ones of us do,” he said, considering Hawk Moth for a moment. 

“I believe she is different. But I need her to see both sides of me, just like I want to see both sides of her.”

Plagg's grin grew somehow Cheshire like in appearance as he rolled over, adopting a laying position. His eyes sharpened as they met Adrien's. “Very well. Tomorrow at school – I am going to disappear for a while. Do not come looking for me and do not panic. I'll be sending something your way to handle any Akumas that may come up.”

“I don't like the sound of this plan.”

“Do you want your little love bug or not?”

Adrien set his chin in his hand and considered his options carefully, his eyes closing as his mind raced. His eyes snapped back open. “All right. But if an Akuma attack does happen you have to promise to make sure whatever help you've left me with is enough. Otherwise you come and change me back to Chat Noir immediately.”

“Of course, of course,” Plagg agreed. “All you have to do is trust me.”

“Somehow, about all of this,” Adrien glanced towards one of his monitors where Ladybug currently smiled back at him. “I'm not sure I do.”

 

“ _That's_ your plan?!” Plagg had known Tikki long enough that he had seen her angry before, but it always took a lot to push her there. And more often than not, he was the source of irritation. They had once again met up at Cour de Récré after their respective chosen had fallen asleep. Plagg had excitedly told Tikki about phase one of his plan (though had not told her yet that he still had no idea how many phases total there would be).

“It will work,” he said it as though it were a fact instead of just wishful thinking. “C'mon, Tikki. Wouldn't you like to get to know Adrien better? Make sure he's good enough for your Marinette?”

Tikki frowned at him before snorting. “I already know Adrien's good enough for Marinette, he may even be the only one who is. I trust Adrien – I'm not so sure I trust you. Do you remember Egypt?”

“It was a long time ago, the details are a little fuzzy...”

“You almost started a war. Then there was that time in England -”

“That was not my fault,” Plagg said indignantly. “Anyone could have made that mistake, I didn't know that it was an offering and I was _hungry_. They shouldn't have left it where I could reach it.”

“My point is,” Tikki's voice become less accusing and more gentle. Plagg prepared himself. She was quite good at coaxing him in and out of things and had kept him out of trouble numerous times in the past. Out of respect for that, he actually listened when she made suggestions or hesitated at his ideas. “Maybe we should back off and let them learn on their own. We shouldn't force it.”

“Tell me,” Plagg said knowingly, “Is Marinette hoping to spend Valentine's alone?”

Tikki sputtered, before letting herself sink down below the nearest plush animal – a penguin carrying a parasol. Plagg was good at reading facial expressions and she didn't want him to know he had her in a corner. 

“I mean if we're okay with them being unhappy,” he shrugged. “It's all the same to me, really.”

“You're playing dirty and you know it,” Tikki gave a resigned sigh. “All right. Tomorrow – but if there are any Akuma attacks...”

“I find Adrien and switch back to him, I know, I know.” He smirked at Tikki as he landed beside her, jerking his head towards the door. “We should probably get back. Trust me! Have I ever let you down ….” he paused as he thought it over “At least in the last century?”


	4. Best Laid Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The switcheroo begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting to get in the meat here. Thank you for all kudos and comments, they do mean a lot to me!

It was not surprising to Tikki in the least bit that Plagg had stuck her with a harder job. He claimed he would be asking Adrien for the ring that contained the Miraculous but Tikki was smarter than believing that. _A ring,_ thought the spotted Kwami bitterly, _Would probably be easier to get off with no one noticing_

She snuck back into Marinette's room the same way she'd come in – on some warmer nights Marinette would occasionally leave the doors partially opened to let any breezes in. Tikki was very grateful that her luck was holding out this well and so far both meet ups with Plagg had been on unseasonably warm days. 

But she wasn't sure how much luck she would need to remove earrings with no one noticing. Tikki landed next to Marinette's phone and quickly touched the dial pad. She turned the screen away from her chosen's sleeping form, trying to use her own body to shield the light away from Marinette. The time proclaimed it was still three in the morning. Tikki had only been with Plagg for about an hour, and Marinette wouldn't wake up until six at the earliest. She breathed a sigh of relief. She still had time. 

She softly floated her way to the bed and sat down beside Marinette's head. She smiled fondly at the girl and brushed some errant hair away from her forehead. “I'm sorry, Marinette...” she whispered. “I can only hope this works out well.” Tikki removed first the right earring and then the left, making sure to secure the backer on each earring before placing them in Marinette's purse, which had been set on the computer desk.

“I hope Plagg doesn't give you too hard of a time tomorrow....”

 

Sometimes when someone wears jewelry for a long enough time, it feels more like an attachment – more like a literal part of you than simply decoration. It's that same feeling that makes it so odd to look down and realize you aren't wearing jewelry you typically do. You can still feel the weight, because you expect it to be there. 

It was most likely because of this that Marinette didn't notice her lack of earrings in the morning as she sluggishly pulled herself out of bed and turned her phone's alarm off. Tikki heard the alarm, but rolled over to go back to sleep. She had been back to dozing peacefully when Marinette grabbed her off the bed and set her gently in the purse. “We're going to be late!” Marinette shrieked, grabbing her back pack and taking off. She grabbed a cookie downstairs in the bakery and handed it to Tikki. Tikki smiled to herself – even when in a rush, Marinette found time to do things for others. 

Tikki braced herself inside the purse – it was small and couldn't hold much, but the things it could hold started bouncing against her uncomfortably as Marinette began to steadily jog towards the school. When the bobbing stopped and everything settled, Tikki knew her friend had safely arrived at school. 

Which meant Phase One was truly about to begin. Tikki listened to Alya and Marinette gossip with Nino cutting in to make observations. Marinette may have been late, but class still had not officially started yet and the Kwamis would need a distraction before they'd be able to enact their plan. She shifted, more uncomfortable with the situation than she was with her physical position. 

“Class, settle down.” Came Mme. Bustier's voice. Tikki had never hoped for the class to have a pop quiz before, but she was hoping for one now. The sooner they got this over with, the better, and the plan hinged on the trade happening before the students took their lunch break. She tried to focus on her cookie, but found she was too excited to eat. As much as Tikki had warned Plagg that they shouldn't get involved, the idea of finally seeing Marinette happily with Adrien had her beside herself with joy.

There was no pop quiz. 

There was a thirty minute lecture on last night's reading which segued into a language lesson. Tikki was starting to worry there wouldn't be a chance for a switch today when the magic words finally came:

“I hope you all remembered the test for tomorrow.”

Even from her hiding spot, Tikki could hear the gulps from numerous students around the classroom, including Marinette. 

“I did warn you,” the teacher said, leaning herself against the desk at front, “That as the year progressed you would get less reminders as I expect you all to be old enough to take care of yourselves.” She gave a knowing smirk. “That being said...you may have the last ten minutes before lunch to study. And _only_ to study. Anyone caught chatting ruins it for everyone else.”

Tikki waited until the room was silent before she popped her head out of the purse. 

“Took you long enough,” Plagg floated a mere inch before her face. Tikki grabbed him out of midair and dragged him back into the purse with her. “That's no way to treat a friend, I think you broke a whisker,” he pouted. 

“You need to be careful not to be seen!” Tikki slapped her arm over her mouth, realizing she had been too loud. She motioned for Plagg to wait as she once more stuck her head out for a peek – the class was still hard at work (or in some cases, pretending to be hard at work – but still not paying attention to Marinette's purse), no one had noticed anything. 

“I am being careful,” Plagg grabbed the earrings from the bottom of the purse before depositing the ring. “Because I am so careful and know that if we keep talking we run a greater risk, I am going to suggest you know go take my place in Adrien's backpack.”

“Plagg, will we really have time to trade back if there's an Akuma? What if--”

Plagg's shoulders drooped as he threw his head back in exasperation. “Tikki, do you trust me?”

“Barely.”

Plagg sputtered a moment before trying a new tactic. “Fine. Do you trust Marinette?” She nodded emphatically. “Do you trust Adrien?” Another nod. “Then trust that they will figure this out, no matter what happens.”

“And you won't try to take Marinette for yourself?”

“Mmm,” came the noncommittal reply as Plagg pushed her out of the purse. 

"But why take the Miraculous with us?"

"Because," Plagg said as he gently nudged her out of the purse. " _If_ something happens and we can't reach our Miraculous we're going to be in big trouble. Which isn't going to happen, but just in case!" Tikki nodded her agreement before flying into Adrien's bag. She was just in time – only seconds after she closed the bag the teacher announced the end of class. 

“Lunch time, students! Please be careful out there, we all know there have been extra ...issues...lately.”

“Nino, Adrien, you up for lunch with me and Marinette?” Alya suggested as all four got to their feet. 

“Yeah, bro,” Nino elbowed Adrien in the ribs. “We should join the lovely ladies, make sure they're safe from the ...what did Bustier call them? 'Issues'?”

Marinette had gone blank, her mouth slightly agape as the words refused to come to her. _I can't go with them. ...Why can't I go with them? Was I supposed to do something?_ There was something nagging at her, something she had to deal with at lunch time. But the thought of lunch with Adrien was chasing it from her mind. 

“Sorry,” Adrien said, shouldering his backpack. “Lunch with dad.”

“He won't even be there!” Nino exclaimed, throwing his arms up in frustration. “Your dad is ...ugh. Dude's uncool, bro.”

“Focus,” Alya whispered through clenched teeth. In a normal voice, she added, “Sorry, Adrien. Maybe next time? Valentine's is only two days away and you can't expect us to go it alone then. Anyone getting dumped or turned down that day is a prime target for becoming a super villain.”

Adrien chuckled humorlessly. “That's true. It will probably be a really busy day.”

“Busy?” Alya cocked her head to the side. 

“Uh....as in probably extra modeling work. You know how it is. Love themed day, love themed shoots...I really shouldn't keep my father waiting. Bye dude, bye Alya.” He paused and smiled at Marinette, who still had her mouth open. “Bye, Marinette.”

“Hi!” Marinette's mouth decided to start working again at the last possible moment. “I've got things I've got to do today, too, sorry.” She felt her face starting to grow hot and she wasn't positive, but the room may have started spinning in the last few seconds. 

“Ah, that's too bad,” Adrien said as he started to head off. “Depending on how it goes, maybe I will spend Valentine's with you guys. Sorry Marinette and I are both busy today, though!” he waved at them as he headed for the car, giving a barely visible salute to the Gorilla before he slid in. 

“All right, Plagg,” Adrien said as he made himself comfortable. “You said I'd need to give up the ring for today but you didn't explain exactly---You are not Plagg.” He'd balanced his backpack on his lap and flipped it open as he spoke, but the Kwami peering up at him was nothing like his own. 

They were the same size – tiny – but that seemed to be where the resemblance started and ended. But he would have known her anywhere. He smiled at her and set a hand in front of her, allowing her to choose whether or not to sit there. She took a seat on his hand and he drew her closer to his face. “So...are you Ladybug's? Well...not hers, I guess. Plagg insists that he owns me. But you must be her Kwami, right?”

“Yes, that's right,” Tikki nodded. “I'm Tikki. It's very nice to meet you, Adrien.”

“You know who I am?” he put his free hand to his forehead as though he had a headache. “And I just made it obvious who my secret identity is...”

“It's all right,” her smile was mischievous, but still far more pleasant than Plagg's, at least in Adrien's opinion. “I'm afraid I already knew. I hope that's not a problem.”

“Did Plagg tell you?”

She shook her head firmly. “No. But the things you try to hide as Adrien...the things that come out as Chat Noir? I see them when I'm with my chosen and I'm looking at you.”

“Does Ladybug know you're here?”

Tikki slumped down and glanced up at him guiltily. “No. But Plagg convinced me...I know how you feel about her. And I think you'd be good together. But I can't tell you who she is. Please understand.”

“So why come see me?”

She giggled. “Plagg is very convincing sometimes. I think he just wants to get to know Ma—my chosen. She is a very sweet, wonderful girl. And whether he admits it or not, he probably wants to make certain she's good enough for you. You're his favorite.”

“Plagg can have favorites?”

“Mm. Yes, he can. And it's more of an honor than I can really explain. He'll never show it, but he does care about you. Maybe more than he even knows.”

Adrien smiled down at this new Kwami and set her on his knee. “We're about to be at my house. I'm afraid you'll have to hide until we get to my room.” He gestured for her to get back inside the backpack and she acquiesced without a fuss. 

 

At the same time as Adrien was getting to know Tikki, Marinette had been sitting and staring at Plagg back in her own bedroom. “How did that cat figure out who I am?!” Marinette demanded. 

_A better question would be how come he_ hasn't _figured it out yet_ Plagg thought to himself as he perched on top of Marinette's sewing machine. “He hasn't. He still has absolutely no clue that you're in the same...” he almost said class, but even he felt that might be crossing a line. “School.”

Same narrowing of the field, ultimately – but a school is much bigger than a single classroom and didn't eliminate as many outside possibilities. Plagg knew it was probably a little more information than he should be giving away, but he was hoping his plan would end up needing only one phase. He had still technically kept his promise not to just directly tell her that Chat and Adrien were one and the same.

“Same school?” Marinette sat down, considering. “Nope! Not thinking about it, don't want to know,” she insisted, pulling out the stuffed cat she'd been working on. “I am going to pretend you're not there and I am going to work on this instead.”

“Could you get me something to eat first?”

“Eat?”

“Camembert?” He asked hopefully. “I looooove Camembert.”

“Oh. Oh, I guess it wouldn't be nice not to offer you food. Do you want a baguette and some milk?” Plagg nodded enthusiastically. “All right. Sit right there. I'll be right back.”

Plagg waited for her to leave the room before he started examining it. “Hmm...cat's a good choice,” he said appreciatively as he looked over Marinette's valentine sketch. “Ladybug spotted heart? And Tikki acted like she was too good to meddle!”

He was still looking the design over when Marinette came back into the room, a plate filled with assorted cheeses and a sliced baguette in one hand and a glass of milk with a straw in the other. She set the refreshments before the Kwami and then sat down at the computer chair. She wheeled it over to her design desk and studied him while he ate. 

He ate quickly and messily, but made sure not to get any crumbs on either the design sketch or the work in progress that was sitting next to it. “I'm Marinette,” she said when he had finished all of his food and started in on the milk. 

“Plagg,” he said, before putting his mouth back on the straw and sucking the milk up in one gulp. “Mmm...that was great!” he rubbed his stomach and sprawled himself out on the desk. Marinette chuckled. 

“Well, you're cuter than Chat is, anyway.”

“Can I tell him you said that?” he asked hopefully. Marinette laughed again, but nodded. “So why are you here? You said he hasn't figured out who I am...and I ...just...just told you who I am by accident just by asking how he knew,” she groaned. “Tikki's going to be so upset with me.”

“Ah, yes, Tikki's 'I'm disappointed in you' looks. I know those well!” 

“You know Tikki?”

“For a few centuries now,” he looked her up and down, deciding something. “I've met every one of her chosen, and she's met every one of mine. It happens sooner or later. We work too closely together for it not to happen.”

“Oh. ...Am I a...Did she...?”

Plagg chuckled. “Tikki has never made a bad decision about her chosen – do not tell her I said that. She's had some choices who weren't as good as the others, but she knows how to pick the ones with good hearts. She's better at it than me,” he added the last part conspiratorial whisper.

Marinette thought on Chat for a while. “I think you've made a great choice this time,” she admitted. “I won't tell Tikki what you said if you don't tell Chat.”

“Please, he'd just start mooning even more after you if I did that,” he gave an involuntary shudder. “How am I supposed to keep my cheese down if he's all 'oh, Ladybug, I love you I miss you...'” he pantomimed gagging.

“Is he really like that when you're together?” Marinette felt her cheeks starting first to flush and then turn pink. “I thought that was mostly just an act he liked to put on.”

“Don't I wish. But nope. Genuinely one hundred percent in love with you,” he looked away, trying to hide his smile. Before he could further the discussion or start dropping hints, though, Marinette had a sudden look of panic.

“Where's Tikki?” Her hands instinctively went to her earlobes. “Where are my earrings?!”

“Calm down! They're with Chat. She's just getting to know him while I get to know you. And before you ask, neither one of us is planning on blabbing identities. Tikki can keep a secret, I assure you.”

“But what if something happens?!”

“Nothing's going to happen,” Plagg scoffed. He wanted to get the conversation back on Chat Noir and Adrien, on trying to lead Marinette back to the right conclusion when her phone went off. 

“Sorry, we'll get back to this,” Marinette promised as she reached for the phone. “Alya? What...Why are classes canceled?” she groaned. “Another villain? Really?! No, no, I'm staying home, but please be careful while you try to get your footage!” She clicked the phone off and crossed her arms, staring down at the cat Kwami. “All right. So...'nothing' has just happened. What do you propose we do about it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys know where this is going. I know you do. And I'm okay with it being obvious, because I freaking want to write this next chapter so badly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A villain emerges and Chat must fight as Ladybug and vice versa. You knew it was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please see author notes at the end in case you disagree with some of this! I go over some things there. Also, Delphine is an OC because I don't like messing with canonical crushes - I gave her a crush on a canon character but that doesn't mean he'd reciprocate. You're free to come up with your own theories on if he does or not.
> 
> So I went with the Hawk Moth name even though I watch the French version of the series (with subtitles) because ...I just can't take a villain named "butterfly" seriously. Not even if you use a foreign word for it. Plus there was a Papillon villain in an anime I like and he was so campy and now I just can't take that name seriously. Ever.

Delphine LeClerc went to the same school as Marinette and her friends, but didn't have the same classes. But she had at least passing knowledge of the others – after all, her own crush was in the same classroom Marinette was.

She was not conventionally attractive, but not hideous. She was short for her age with light brown hair that went just past her ears. She had tan skin that was pockmarked with touches of acne around her forehead and chin. Her brown eyes were soft and sweet, but few ever noticed that – she spent most of her time with her nose in a book or staring straight at the ground, hoping not to be noticed. She was a little eccentric in that she wore a school uniform despite one not being required. She was used to being teased about things: her looks, her quiet nature, her extreme passion for things most would consider 'geeky'.

But no one had ever teased her about her crush before today. Because no one else had ever known. Given that Valentine's was a few days away, she decided to make her move early. Talking to him on Valentine's day would be a dead give away about her feelings, after all. So the Wednesday before hand, she had resolved she would tell him how she felt. 

She watched him across the quad, trying to give herself the courage to stand up and go talk to him when Chloe sat next to her. 

Delphine had never interacted with Chloe before, but the rich girl's reputation proceeded her. Delphine instinctively winced. Chloe smiled at her in a way that made Delphine feel that the other girl was preparing to eat her. 

“So...Max, huh?” Chloe extended a hand out in front of her face, examining in her nails carefully. 

“W—what?” Delphine bit her bottom lip. She hadn't thought she was being obvious. Had she been?

“Puh-lease. You've been watching him for the last few minutes. I could help, you know.”

Everything Delphine had ever heard about Chloe Bourgeois came to mind – she was a schemer, she had a crush on Adrien, she was filthy rich, she had caused multiple villain attacks and she was, in a word, awful. But Delphine didn't truly know Chloe, and she had to admit to herself that sometimes rumors weren't true. “How could you help?” her voice came out softly, and probably more than a little anxious. 

Chloe's smile turned to malicious. “Why, like this of course!” She stood up and grabbed Delphine's arm, dragging her back up with her. “HEY MAX! THIS WEIRDO LIKES YOU!”

Max had been preoccupied with talking to Kim, but now his attention turned to Chloe and Delphine. He looked confused. Kim looked amused and Chloe looked incredibly proud of herself. The blonde pulled out her phone and took a quick snapshot of Delphine's hurt look. “You're very welcome!” she laughed, pulling up her contact list to send the picture out as she walked away. 

Delphine felt the world closing in on her. For a moment, her vision seemed to tunnel – everyone except Max fell away. But he looked embarrassed and maybe a little upset. Delphine turned and ran, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. She kept running until her lungs were burning and her muscles screaming at her to stop. She collapsed at the park, her back against the gate as she broke down into sobs.

“Oh, how tragic....” Hawk Moth's window opened up at his bidding the moment he sensed the hurt and anguish. Despite the sympathy in his words, his tone was predatory. One of his butterflies alighted on his extended hand. “Go to her,” he urged. 

The Akuma landed on Delphine, absorbing into the pin she wore from one of her favorite television shows. “Hello, Chatterbox.” 

Delphine's pupils dilated as she heard Hawk Moth's voice. 

“I offer you a gift – your secret has been forcibly taken from you. Now you will be able to return that favor on the one that wronged you. But in return, I wish for the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Do we have a deal?”

“Yes, Hawk Moth,” she said automatically, thinking immediately of vengeance against Chloe. Her outfit changed from the school uniform to a one piece dress with a poofed out skirt. The dress was black but with a gold lock symbol in the center. The only part of her original outfit still in place was the pin that now housed the Akuma.

“Then go! But remember – you must bring me the Miraculouses!”

 

“Nino, what is happening?” Adrien had received his phone call at the same time Marinette had received hers. “Another villain? ...Yeah, yeah, I'll stay away, but you should get out of there, too. ...Yeah, I know Alya's probably going to try to keep you there but _try_ to get her away.” Adrien frowned, glancing worriedly at Tikki. “Oh....? Chat Noir and Ladybug still haven't shown up yet? Well, I mean they're not _always_ there that very second, you know? ...I have to go. Just stay safe!” he hung up with a sigh.

“Tikki, what do we do? Plagg has my ring and I have Ladybug's earrings...”

Tikki looked off to the side and then at Adrien, her expression unsure. “You could use the earrings.”

“No I can't.”

“It's an emergency! We'll switch back later and the suit will modify itself to you.”

“I can't, Tikki.”

“Why not?”

In response, Adrien gestured to his ears. “My ears aren't pierced. And trust me, my dad will give me an earful if I do get them pierced.”

“Oh,” Tikki said softly. She hadn't even thought to look before making the suggestion. “Then I suppose we'll have to track down Ladybug to make a switch.” She didn't want Marinette and Adrien finding out this way, of course, but it was an emergency. Before she could suggest where they should start looking for Marinette, Adrien's phone rang again.

“YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!” Nino's voice came. Adrien held the phone away from his ear as Nino continued to shout. 

“Are you still at the school? You guys need to get to safety!”

“Bro, there's no way I can drag Alya away now! Ladybug just showed up – but she's in Chat Noir's costume! _I_ don't even want to leave here, dude! When do you think we'll ever see something like this again?”

“Nino, what has this villain been doing?”

“Like ...she calls herself Chatterbox and if she touches you then you end up spilling your darkest secrets – don't worry, Alya and I are on the roof and she's on the ground. Anyway, seems she's mostly after Chloe anyway. So far she just got Ian to admit he still sleeps with a -” Adrien clicked the phone off.

“She may not be the most dangerous villain,” his attention returned to the red and black Kwami, “But she's pretty dangerous for me and Ladybug – she's a truth based Akuma. ...And my powers don't include purification.”

“And M---Ladybug is already out there, as Chat Noir,” Tikki added, shaking her head. “I don't know what we should do.”

“I do,” Adrien sighed. “This is more important than my father getting upset. ...Do you know how to pierce ears?”

 

Ladybug, now dressed as Chat Noir, hadn't known what to expect from the transformation. The actual transforming part had been the same as always, but she also felt disoriented – her sense of hearing and smell had greatly improved to the point of distraction. And she wasn't sure yet how to use the baton on her back. She was, however, pleasantly surprised to find that the cat suit had conformed to her body and while it was heavier than her usual Ladybug clothing, it wasn't hard to move around in. She really could have done without the bell, though.

She arrived at the school in time to see multiple kids running in the opposite direction. She caught Rose by the arm to ask for an update on the situation.

“Oh, she's calling herself Chatterbox and she's making everyone give up their biggest secrets,” Ladybug tried not to gasp. “Why are you in Chat Noir's clothes?”

“No time for that, please go back to fleeing,” Ladybug shooed her off, and Rose followed the instructions. _Okay. So this villain is better equipped to unmask me than most so I can't let her touch me...and no Chat here since he has my Miraculous so I might be completely on my own this time._

She ran into the school to find Chatterbox going from door to door, shouting for Chloe's whereabouts. _If I had a nickel for every time Chloe was responsible for an Akuma, I would be rich by now..._ Ladybug thought bitterly. She went to reach for her yo yo, only to sigh and throw her head back in irritation. “Okay, fine, baton it is,” she grabbed it from off of her back and began to spin it defensively in front of her as she progressed through the school after Chatterbox. After just a few moments, though, she lost her focus and ended up smacking herself in the face. “Ow!”

“Yeah, it takes some getting used to,” came a familiar voice behind her. Ladybug turned to see Chat behind her. At least...she assumed it was Chat.

Instead of the usual cat suit he wore her Ladybug outfit. He flexed and smirked at her as her eyes took in the scene – it was just as tight on him as it was on her and she found herself wondering if he could be at all comfortable in it. But he didn't quite look like Chat Noir to her – his hair was currently better coiffed than usual, perhaps because of the lack of cat ears. In fact, the hair style looked familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place it. Her eyes widened as she noticed a trickle of blood on each of Chat's ears. “What happened?” She asked, going to wipe the blood away from each ear. 

“My ears weren't pierced,” he admitted sheepishly. “I think Tikki did a good job, though, don't you?”

“I can't believe you did that...”

“Yeah, I 'ear you,” he smiled in his typical Cheshire manner as he studied her in his outfit. “You look pretty good in that, my Lady. Or should I call you Kitten today?”

She elbowed him in the ribs. “We need to focus. We have to get the Akuma out of Chatterbox without her touching either of us,” she weighed the baton in her hands. “And I'm not sure I can handle your powers that well. Maybe we should switch?”

He was about to nod his agreement when Chatterbox came around the hallway, running full speed towards them, shrieking that Chloe had already gotten away from the school Ladybug jumped at the same time Chat did, her going over Chatterbox and him going to the right side of the villain. 

She smirked at them. “I wonder what kind of secret made you two switch today?” She shook her head. “It doesn't matter. I'll get your Miraculouses _and_ I'll get Chloe to admit whatever her biggest secret is, once I find where she ran off to.” In addition to the truth power, she seemed to be able to float a few inches above the ground. She sped their way again and once more, Chat went one direction and Ladybug went the other. 

_“Get them!”_ Hawk Moth's voice urged her. She nodded her agreement. She faked her way towards Chat again, but this time at the last second changed directions to go towards Ladybug.

A cat's reflexes are better than a ladybug's. She should have been able to get out of the way in time. But Chat was well practiced in the art of putting himself between Ladybug and danger. So even though Ladybug had plenty of time to jump out of the way of the attack, Chat had placed himself there instead. His face went blank.

“No, don't say it, don't say who you are!” Ladybug urged, trying to put a hand over his mouth. He removed her hand and looked her in the eye. 

“...I'm very lonely...”

It was all he said, but apparently it was the secret he kept most to himself. His dazed expression wore off and he tried to laugh it off. “Oh, you know me...I ...” he caught the sympathetic look Ladybug was giving him and felt a stabbing pain in his heart. “It's nothing, my Lady. Besides, we have something more pressing right now, right?”

Ladybug agreed. Chatterbox had been far too interested to hear Chat's secret and had stopped pressing the attack as she had listened in. Now that Chat Noir's secret was out he and Ladybug would be more determined with him being fully able to go on the offense now that there was no secret to guard. Sensing that she needed to get back the upper hand, Chatterbox raced for the stairs, intending to get to the roof.

“Roof top fight?” Chat asked, trying to get Ladybug back on the matter at hand. “You know, it always seems to end up with us running up and down stairs and usually with a battle on the roof top. ...Hey,” he poked her shoulder, “Cat can't have your tongue while _you're_ Chat Noir.” 

“Oh. Sorry,” she said softly. “Let's go, though.” She was too distracted by Chat's admittal of loneliness to point out that they had just made a plan to swap back Miraculouses, so they continued up to the roof with her still as Chat Noir and with him still as Ladybug. 

Chat tried to pick up the pace when he remembered that Nino had called him from the roof – he didn't know if his friend had any secrets to really protect, but he didn't wish for anyone else to feel the way he had just felt. Having that particular secret laid bare in front of Ladybug...he was trying not to think about it.

The pair burst onto the rooftop just moments after Chatterbox had. Nino and Alya were currently backing away from the villain, trying to avoid her touch. But they were both running out of room and were about to be at the very edge of the rooftop. 

“Luck----” Ladybug sighed, remembering that she didn't have the yo yo or the ability to cast Lucky Charm. Chat would have to do it. “Chat? Do you know how to do Lucky Charm?”

“I think so,” he said with a shrug.

“Good,” she nodded. “Cataclysm!” her hands felt as though they had simultaneously fallen asleep and been jolted by lightning. She shook off the feeling. “I'll distract her.”

She used the ability to rot a nearby pipe just enough to pull it out of the roof and brandish as an additional weapon with the baton spinning in her other hand as a matter of defense. She wasn't sure Chatterbox could take the abuse from the baton and figured the piping would allow her to fight without hurting the other girl. She kept pressing on, trying to force Chatterbox into a corner. Chatterbox, however, seemed to also be a skilled gymnast and kept flipping, flying or just blocking the attacks.

“Okay, hope this works,” Chat said, taking a deep breath before flicking the yo yo in the air. “Lucky Charm!” Out of seemingly nowhere the Lucky Charm produced another yo yo. It landed in Chat's hand and he studied it carefully. “I can barely use _one_!” he complained. But then he noticed that although it had the typical ladybug red and black, there was also a cat emblem on the other side. He glanced around, noticing that suddenly certain parts of the roof – Ladybug's right hand and the villain herself – seemed to have the same red and black of a ladybug. “Got it! Catch, my lady!” 

He threw her the extra yo yo and she began to spin it with practiced ease. Now with a weapon she knew better how to use she cornered Chatterbox. Chatterbox attempted to fly off, but both Ladybug and Chat's yo yos encircled her at the waist, and the two heroes began pulling her towards them. Chat and Ladybug both pulled just hard enough to bring Chatterbox to her knees. Ladybug pulled the pin off of Chatterbox's dress. “This is the only thing here, so I sure hope it's right...you ready, Chat?”

“Ready!” 

She broke the pin and the Akuma started to fly away. Chat missed the first throw. “Shoot!” Rolling her eyes, Ladybug picked him up and threw him at the fleeing butterfly. This time, he got the yo yo close enough and purified it before attempting to land on his feet. He missed and felt his feet go out from under him. “Cats always land on their feet. Ladybugs, I guess, not so much.” He smirked and extended an arm for his and Ladybug's customary fist bump. She returned it, but then grabbed his hand and started urging him back towards the stairs.

“C'mon,” Ladybug said as both the earrings and ring started beeping their time limit warnings. “We've got to go!”

“But why are you dressed as each other?” Alya had been forgotten in the confusion, but she and Nino had both been recording everything. Alya was beginning to close in on them, her phone wielded like a weapon before her. 

“No time for that, nice to see you again, bye!” Chat and Ladybug both took off down the stairs. In response, Nino took out his back pack and removed the Venn diagram of similarities between Marinette and Ladybug. In the over lap circle he added 'constantly making excuses and disappearing'. 

“I hope Adrien finds flaking attractive,” he joked. 

 

They were in the girls' bathroom. Chat had not wanted to go in, but Ladybug insisted on having her way. It was the only way for them to have privacy stalls and she wasn't about to go back into the boy's bathroom after her last experience in there (not that she told Chat about that...).

She undid her transformation and slid the ring under the stall on a clean piece of toilet paper. Chat did the same with the earrings. Plagg and Tikki simply flew over the partitions to their respective chosen. “You made a pretty good Chat,” he offered. “You looked purr-fect in that outfit, anyway.”

She didn't response.

“C'mon, my Lady. We just need to feed our Kwamis and then we can get out of here. I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable. I won't come out until you're able to transform again.”

In her stall, Tikki sat on Marinette's lap and munched on a cookie. Marinette frowned. “Did you mean what you said?”

“Yes, you did look pur--”

“Not that! About being lonely? Why didn't you tell me?”

Adrien sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “It crosses over into my normal...or day to day side, I guess. I actually feel less lonely when I'm around you. But normal school days when I'm not a super hero, sometimes I feel alone. Even when I'm surrounded by people.” Plagg watched his chosen carefully, trying to keep the sympathy out of his face. Adrien pulled a piece of camembert from his backpack and gave it to his Kwami. 

Marinette considered something. “Chat...would you meet me on Valentine's day?”

“Of course!” Adrien frowned at how eager he sounded, but it couldn't be helped. “Where would my lady like to meet?”

“Eiffel tower? Say around eight p.m.?”

“Sounds great.”

“Great. I'll see you then. I think Tikki's ready so...I'm gonna go. I'll see you later, Chat. You did a great job as Ladybug today, by the way. ...But I think black's more your color.” He heard her mutter for Tikki to transform her and then waited for the sound of the bathroom door closing. 

“Let's go home, Plagg. I think afternoon classes are going to stay canceled and I'd like to go home.”

“Don't you want to transform?”

“Ladybug won't be waiting to try to find out,” Plagg noted that Adrien sounded disappointed, but he couldn't argue with the boy. “And while I don't want her knowing about me being lonely and feeling sorry for me, I do like that she wants to spend Valentine's with me. I want to get her something to celebrate that. So that maybe it won't just be about pity.”

“Hm.” Plagg rolled his eyes. “Valentine's day, love...all of this mushy junk is making me very ill, I hope you realize that. But...” his tone softened. “I may just have an idea on what you can get her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, Adrien pierced his ears. Because if the dude is willing to let himself get erased from time and get shot by an arrow (that he didn't know the effect of) for Ladybug, I think he'd be willing to do something non life threatening like piercing his ears for her. I thought about cop outs like letting him wear it on his clothes, but I don't think that's how Miraculouses work. And if it is, oh well. 
> 
> And his secret being his loneliness? Well, it couldn't be his crush on Ladybug (he's super obvious about that) and I figure his secret identity isn't as important to him as it is to her - He WANTS to share that information with her. 
> 
> I think there will be either one or two more chapters of this and I have to level with you guys: I STILL haven't decided if this is a reveal fic or not.


	6. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which someone finally notices the obvious

Marinette was distracted. She had made only two stitches in the last hour on the stuffed cat she was making for Adrien, and it was already Thursday night. Valentine's day was tomorrow. 

“Do you need help?” Tikki offered. She couldn't sew herself, but she could hold the plush closed to make it easier. Or get supplies. Or even make suggestions on how to make it faster. “Maybe you should use the sewing machine? You wanted to give it to Adrien tomorrow, right?”

Marinette nodded absently before sighing and setting the cat down on the table. The ladybug spotted heart was complete, but had not been attached yet. It sat next to the cat, both looking forlornly unfinished. “I can't use the sewing machine. It has to feel more special...I guess that's silly. And I can't help shaking the feeling...” she trailed off. Her train of thought derided and instead she let out a yawn. 

“It's later than you usually stay up,” Tikki observed. “And you never told me how you liked being Chat for the day! Or what you think of Plagg...he can be a little much, but he's really sweet when you get to know him.”

Marinette nodded again, but more surely than last time. “Plagg was nice. Being Chat was a little...It felt odd. Especially seeing Chat Noir in my outfit. And Cataclysm feels so...” she shuddered. “Lucky Charm always feels warm to use. Cataclysm may be useful, but...” once more a yawn interrupted her thoughts. “I really should go to bed.”

“Should I wake you up early to help you with finishing the cat before school?” Tikki offered. Sometimes when Marinette really needed help she would set an early alarm – Tikki would get up with that alarm and then wake Marinette up since sometimes the raven head would just flop back into bed if she wasn't kept in check. 

“That's all right. I'll do it in school.”

“But how will you keep him from seeing it?”

“It's fine, Tikki,” Marinette said firmly, climbing into bed. Feeling guilty, she added “But thank you. Goodnight.”

 

Plagg was laughing. Worse, Plagg hadn't stopped laughing for a good fifteen minutes now. At least, that was Adrien's estimation – he admittedly hadn't checked the time since the laughter had started.

“Your ears!” Plagg choked out between fits of giggles. “You actually pierced your _ears_! Your father is going to...going....” more peals of laughter. Adrien crossed his arms while he waited for it to subside. “Going to be...upset...and you can't even hide it! Because....(giggle) you...you (tee-hee)...you put another pair of...of...(raucous laughter) earrings in!”

“I can't let the hole close up,” Adrien took a seat at his computer desk, his right hand going to the ear on the same side. In each ear he now had tiny diamond studs. “I read the holes can close really quickly and I don't want to have to re-pierce them.”

Plagg was finally starting to gain control of himself, merely chuckling instead of outright chortling. “Now why would you need to have them pierced again?” 

“What if something like this happens again and I need to use Ladybug's Miraculous? It's better to be prepared,” He gave a strong look of determination, but it just sent Plagg back into a hysterical fit, the Kwami literally falling over and rolling in his laughter. 

Adrien waited impatiently. “You know, if you stopped laughing for a moment you could tease me about spending all day with Ladybug when I couldn't.”

“Oh, you're right!” Plagg said delightedly, suddenly sitting himself up. He was sitting on the computer desk and he pushed the mouse out of his way so he would have more room to move around – he had a tendency to knock things over when he was excited and he only liked things falling when he pushed them. 

“Well?”

“She's a girl.” Plagg smirked.

Adrien resisted the urge to throw something at him. “I think I was aware of that already. Was she just as amazing out of costume as she is in it?”

“Do you mean how does she look?”

Adrien shook his head. “No...does she act the same? Is she still just this confident, amazing, strong person?” Plagg snorted. “Yeah, I know, I'm mooning again.” Plagg didn't correct him. 

“She may not be exactly as you expect.”

Adrien's smile only softened. His eyes were focused on the window but Plagg knew his thoughts weren't on the scenery. “I don't care. I'm not the same as Chat as I am as Adrien. Not exactly...they're both me, but neither one is me. Does that make sense?”

“Not at all.”

It was Adrien's turn to chuckle. He pushed himself up from his chair. “I'll get you some cheese.”

“Not that I mind, but what for? You're not going to bribe the information out of me. I will not give up Ladybug's identity so easily,” he crossed his arms. _Mainly because you won't let me..._

“Nothing like that, Plagg. I actually kind of missed you today. Being Ladybug is interesting, but I think I make a better Chat Noir.”

“I don't know, Ladybug did a pretty good job today...”

“Do you want your cheese or not?”

“Camembert and brie...oh! And slice up a baguette for me!”

“I don't think we even have any right now.”

“Ladybug did it for me,” Plagg pouted. Adrien just shrugged. “Oh, fine. Just the cheese then. Oh and....” he said the next part too low for Adrien to hear. 

“I'm sorry?” Adrien started to come closer, but Plagg waved him away.

“I'm going to staaaarrrvvveeeee,” Plagg whined, throwing himself down on the desk dramatically. “You have to feed me or I will pass out!”

Adrien rolled his eyes, but left the room anyway. Plagg watched him go, deciding not to tell him – what he had muttered so softly was that he was glad to be back with Adrien as well. _Well, I don't need to tell him. He might get all mushy on me._

 

“This can't be right,” Nino said, studying the diagram. It was Friday morning and, at Alya's insistence, he had met her at the school an hour before they usually arrived. They sat with their backs against the school as they plotted, each with a pen in hand to make notes as they thought them up. “Dude, this is a really weird coincidence, but...”

Alya snatched the diagram from his hands. It wasn't the overlap that concerned either one of them, though. It was the 'differences' column. Nino had jokingly added all of the times that Ladybug had shown up that Marinette wasn't there. And sure enough...that seemed to be almost every time. 

“It is a weird coincidence,” Alya admitted. “But there was that time with Adrien's party...” Nino winced. “Sorry. I just mean that she was there at the party. I spent time with her there.”

“I know,” he looked away from her, trying to avoid eye contact. “It's just hard not to feel bad for bubbling all the parents in Paris and sending them away. Someone could have really gotten hurt.”

“I told you how I stuffed Chat Noir in a freezer,” she pointed out. “No one's in control of themselves when Hawk Moth gets involved. And there's always the support group that meets on Thursdays after school...” she trailed off. Though memories of the event were almost always vague, previously Akumatized victims usually still felt guilty afterward. The support group had been Rose's idea shortly after Alix had been Akumatized. “It is weird how many students in this school have turned into villains, though.”

Nino nodded his agreement, finally meeting her eyes. “Yeah. But you said she was at the party. Only, she left – It's vague, but I remember fighting Chat Noir and Ladybug and Marinette wasn't there when I was ...when I bubbled all the other kids.” 

He seemed not to want to talk about it anymore, but Alya's reporter senses were tingling. She flipped the diagram over and wrote down the names of their classmates, drawing a butterfly in turn over each classmate that had been turned into a villain, starting with herself. After she finished only Rose, Ivan, Adrien and Marinette lacked the butterfly emblem. 

“So, what...Rose and Ivan are Ladybug and Chat Noir?” He suggested. “I think that might be worse than your idea that Chloe-”

“Will everyone please stop reminding me of that?! Yes, it was dumb to think it was Chloe,” she pointed one finger at Ivan and one at Adrien. “I've thought it was Adrien before...but Ivan's technically possible...” she mused, muttering too low for Nino to hear her. She sat up, straight backed a look of dawning comprehension. “Oh ...Wow.”

“Yeah?”

“Nino....I'm a complete and total idiot.”

“No way, dude,” he assured her. “Umm...why are you an idiot? Not that you are!”

She held up the paper, first going from the Venn diagram to the other side of the page, switching them back and forth so rapidly that Nino couldn't follow exactly what her point was.

“Nino!” she glanced around and leaned into him, whispering in his ear. “Someone's watching the school.”

“...That is not where I thought you were going with this.”

“He _is_ , though!” She said insistently, no longer whispering. “How else is Hawk Moth constantly attacking people at this school? He's ...he's zeroing in! He doesn't know who Ladybug and Chat Noir are but he can sense them and he's sending attackers who are around them!”

“That doesn't make sense...There was that mime?”

Alya looked around again, and when she felt certain they weren't being watched she pointed one more time first at Marinette's name and then at Adrien's. Her finger went back to Marinette. “Marinette made the hat he used for his performance.”

“The pigeon guy?”

“Another hat, actually...Marinette told me about seeing a strange guy at the park that day when she was getting inspiration.”

“We shouldn't let Marinette make any more hats..”

“That's what you're getting from this?!”

“It's just a little much to take in,” Nino shrugged, looking again at the listed students' names. “I mean...Marinette's really clumsy. Nice, but clumsy. And not really confident. And Adrien's so put together when Chat Noir always comes across as really goofy in all the videos I've seen of him. It doesn't make sense. And what about the time with the knight guy?”

“Marinette disappeared around the same time Ladybug showed up. I know because I was worried about her...”

“What about when Mylène turned into a monster? Adrien and Marinette both got taken by her!”

“Did anyone actually see them get taken? _Either_ of them?”

Nino rubbed the back of his neck and finally shook his head. He still didn't look convinced, though.

Alya pushed herself up to her feet and clenched her fists, her expression resolute. “I've got it this time. I _know_ it's them. I don't know why they didn't tell their best friends...” she trailed off momentarily, but shook it off. “And what's more, we need to warn them.”

“I still think you're jumping to conclusions.”

“Are you helping or not?!”

“Okay, okay, but are we still setting them up as Valentine's or...what are we doing with that? Because this means he already likes her back, right?”

Alya's eyes widened and she jumped up and down in her spot. “You're right! Oh my gosh...you're right, he likes her back! I have to tell her I...” she paused. “Do you really think I'm wrong about this, Nino?”

He considered it. “It makes more sense than Chloe,” Alya growled in response, but he pushed on. “But I'm still not sure I buy it. I probably wouldn't say anything to them unless you're sure. Oh and...” he grabbed his backpack and fished something out, pushing it into her hands. “Happy Valentine's day, by the way.”

It was a single red rose with a ladybug charm bracelet wrapped around it. “Nino! Thank you!” she kneeled down, wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her. “This is really sweet of you. I was just going to suggest I pay for dinner for us tonight...”

He chuckled. “Yeah, but somehow I think what you really want to do tonight is more research.” Alya nodded. “Okay, so I'll help you.”

“Really? But I thought you didn't think I was right?”

“Nope,” he admitted, pushing himself up to standing. He stretched. “I don't. But _if_ it turns out you're right we need to figure that out so we can tell our best friends.” he checked his watch. “We've only got about five minutes before people start showing up for the day. You think we have enough time to run and get some food?”

“Yeah. But then straight back to working on this!”

“Yeah, bro, I know.”

 

Marinette looked distant. And everyone was noticing. She had not answered roll call, didn't notice Alya's attempts to get through to her, and was thrown completely off guard when the teacher selected her to answer a question (despite, Marinette thought irritably afterward, the fact that some of the other kids actually had raised their hands and _wanted_ to give the answer). When she went back to zoning out, finally Adrien turned around to talk to her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, leaning as far back as he dared, whispering at the level he felt she would be able to hear without the teacher noticing. Still no response. Alya elbowed her in the ribs and when that didn't work, simply pinched Marinette's hand. 

“OWWWW!”

“Marinette, do not disturb the classroom!” Mme. Bustier said, slapping her hand on the desk. “You will not be a distraction to the other students!”

“Sorry,” Marinette said, her eyes shifting down. The teacher took it as a sign of remorse on Marinette's part and went back to her lecture. But actually, she was studying the stuffed cat on her lap, carefully adding the last few stitches to keep the stuffing in place. Alya had seen the plush toy that morning, but hadn't noticed until that moment that Marinette was working even while the teacher talked. 

Alya moved her backpack from underneath the table to the top of it, under the pretense of looking for some of her books. It helped to hide some of the more odd movements her best friend had to make in order to sew underneath the table. Marinette gave her a grateful smile before immediately returning back to work.

When class was adjourned for lunch time, Alya and Nino both popped out of their seats, each looking expectantly at their best friend. Marinette merely moved her sewing on top of her desk to continue her work. Adrien smirked back at Nino, but started collecting his things. “Marinette, we did promise them we'd go to lunch today.”

“Can't. Busy.” She pulled the heart from her backpack and started to arrange for adding it onto the cat – the intention had originally been to have the cat holding the heart, but now she was liking the idea of arranging his tail around it.

Alya felt her mouth drop open. She had never in the entire time Marinette had known Adrien heard of Marinette willingly missing a chance to hang out with the model. 

Adrien just shrugged, but leaned in to study Marinette's work. “That looks great! Who's it for?”

Marinette seemed to finally come to, her eyes darting up with a deer in head lights look. “Uh...I...umm. Friend. He's just a friend,” she said the last sentence defensively before returning to her sewing. 

"But isn't it for-" Nino started, looking in Adrien's direction. Alya shushed him, thankful that Adrien had been oblivious. When Marinette's blue eyes finally met her gold ones, she raised one eyebrow, darting a quick glance towards Adrien. Marinette gave a small shake of her head. Alya's eyebrow went up further as she resisted asking exactly who the plush was intended for.

“That's a lot of work to put in for a friend,” Adrien observed. “But it's really nice of you. I'm sure he'll like it.”

“I didn't say it was for a guy...who said that? Not me!” Marinette's stitches were still tidy, but she was going faster than she intended. She pulled a little harder on the string than she meant to, jamming the needle into her thumb by accident. She put the injured digit to her mouth and sucked on it momentarily, but removed it when she saw the other three still watching her. “I...”

“It's okay, we understand.” Adrien gave her his most charming smile. “But I do hope you'll eat something. Or we could pick you something up from the restaurant?” She shook her head, but Alya made a fist and used it to make a gentle rapping motion on Marinette's forehead. 

“I know you and you won't eat if we don't get you something. We'll bring back lunch. So uh...when exactly will you be giving this to your mystery guy?”

“Tonight. Eight. Eiffel tower,” Marinette said absently, before realizing what she'd just said. “You guys cannot be there! He's just a friend!” She insisted again.

Adrien cocked his head to the side. “Huh. I'm meeting someone there at the same time.” He, likewise, hadn't thought it through. “Oh! But uh...maybe not. I should probably call her and meet her somewhere else.” he felt a rise of panic as both Alya and Nino looked at him questioningly. 

“Oh, we won't be there,” Alya said sweetly, hoping she sounded honest. “C'mon, Nino. Adrien can follow along in a minute.”

“But why--?” She gave him a look that clearly said no more questions. He shrugged before following her out of the room. 

Marinette was arranging the cat's tail so that she could sew the heart on when she noticed that Adrien was still in the room with her. He smiled approvingly at what she was doing.

“I like the ladybug spots on the heart,” he offered. “Um...maybe you don't like this guy, but it's great you would do something like this for a friend.” He considered the heart momentarily. “But uh...it's maybe not my place to say, but a heart may be suggesting more than what you want – if you are just friends, I mean.”

Marinette fiddled with the heart in question. “It feels right,” she squeaked out.

“I'm sorry?” Adrien asked politely. Her voice had been a little hard to understand at that pitch, and he hadn't caught it. 

She refused to repeat herself. “Catch up to Alya and Nino. I'm almost done with this. And who knows? Maybe I'll see you with your ...girlfriend,” she tried not to choke on the last word, “tonight?” She felt a pang of jealousy, but she tried not to let it get to her. 

“She's not my girlfriend.” Marinette tried to keep her relief from being visible on her face, but she wasn't sure she had succeeded. He smiled at her and gave a small wave. “But yeah. Maybe we will see each other tonight.”

Alya pulled Nino back from the door frame and then away from the door, motioning for him to run after her. He caught up to her at the end of the hallway, his face quizzical. In response, her eyes darted to the classroom door, which Adrien was currently coming out of. 

“He can't know we overheard them,” she hissed.

“Are we playing matchmaker or are we spying to see if they're superheroes?” He asked irritably. “I'm having a hard time keeping up.”

“I don't know yet,” Alya's eyes were sparkling dangerously. “But I have a feeling we'll find out tonight.”

“Oh no...”

“Yep. Seven fifty, at the Eiffel Tower. We need to try to beat them there, after all...” she went silent when Adrien caught up to them, but her smile remained devious for the rest of lunch. Nino sat there across the table from her, cursing her for getting him caught up in all of it and cursing himself for finding that particular smirk so attractive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so ...maybe one or two more chapters? And yeah, the thing with Alya is a total set up for a potential sequel (that's more actiony than romance but still with romance because I like writing it). So about this chapter:
> 
> I do believe Alya's smart enough that sooner or later she's likely to catch on. I'm just not buying that all these smart characters are _always_ going to overlook all these coincidences. The thing about Hawk Moth? Speculation on my part - of course within a show like this the heroes will have a personal connection to most of the villains, but I wanted a reason, dang it, so I gave myself one. So I figure the Miraculous hide them from being too obvious and make it so that even when their emotions are running kind of wild they don't get picked up by his Predatory Empathy. 
> 
> And Nino's just getting dragged around in all of this because I think he's a sweetie and he's fun to drag around.


	7. Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which people FINALLY react to Pierced Ears and we don't get quite as far as I thought we would (two more chapters? Three? Who even knows anymore?)

Tikki peeked carefully out of the bag after she was certain she'd heard Adrien leaving. Marinette was alone in the classroom, and seemed to be almost finished with her project. Tikki moved over to the top of the desk, admiring the plushie. “It looks great, Marinette. I'm sure Chat will love it.”

Marinette dropped her needle and looked guiltily at her Kwami. “Why do you think it's for Chat?”

“You basically told Adrien it wasn't for him,” Tikki reasoned, “And then mentioned your plans to meet up with Chat Noir tonight.”

“Oh. Oh, right,” Marinette picked the needle up from where it had dropped down on the table – the string was still looped through the eye, so it hadn't fallen to the floor. She made the final stitch then bit the remaining string off – a bad habit, but she didn't have any scissors right now. “Do you think Adrien's right? That it's not fair to give it to Chat if I just want to be friends with him?”

“ _Do_ you just want to be friends with him?”

“Of course!” Marinette said so quickly that it jumbled together. She went instantly from looking defensive to looking confused. “We're a team. And I love Adrien. Chat's so...so _Chat_. Oh, Tikki,” the teenager groaned and put her head down on the table. “Why does this feel more complicated?”

Tikki considered, then pushed Marinette's chin up so their eyes could meet. “Marinette, if you are only giving this to Chat because Chatterbox made him admit that he was lonely, then I don't support what you're doing. But if you think you have feelings for him...”

“Of course I don't!” She crossed her arms defiantly, but Tikki looked unconvinced. Her arms uncrossed and instead she clenched her fists. “Okay, so sometimes I don't think he's that bad and his puns are sometimes kind of funny – but I can't let him know I think that or he'd make even more of them. And we work great together and we're a team but ...it almost feels like cheating. I mean, you have to pick one, right? You can only fall in love with one person, because if you fall in love with a second person you couldn't have _really_ loved the first person that much, right?”

“Those are some interesting questions, Marinette. And there are different ways to answer them depending on the people involved.” Tikki was taking this seriously, of course, and trying to answer in a gentle way. But even she was starting to think it would be easier on the teenagers if they could know the truth. “I think you do really want to give this to Chat, though. And I support that if you do.”

“But what if he keeps insisting that he has to know who I am? What if he's disappointed when I'm just Marinette?”

Tikki shook her head. “There is no 'just' there. You are Marinette, you are Ladybug and you are amazing. He sees that. I promise you,” Tikki made a small x over her heart and then did the same over Marinette's. She seemed ready to say something else, but she heard the sounds of people approaching so she ducked back inside the purse.

“I can't believe I didn't notice,” Nino was saying as he came through the door. Adrien and Alya were following. Now that she didn't have her work distracting her, Marinette was finally able to pay her friends more attention. Alya and Nino both seemed amused, while Adrien looked a little uncomfortable. 

“It's a fashion thing,” he insisted. “It'll take off, I'm sure.”

“I'm pretty sure that was only popular in the '90s,” Alya joked. “What do you think, Marinette?”

“I'm sorry, what was popular?” Marinette apologized, leaning over to put the plush in her backpack. “I've been kind of distracted...”

“Hadn't noticed,” Alya rolled her eyes. Ignoring her, Adrien pulled out a bag from his own backpack. He gave Marinette a low bow before dropping it on the table in front of her. 

“Hamburgers for the lady,” he said, leaning back up. As he did, the light from the window glinted off the studs in his ears immediately catching Marinette up on the topic of conversation. 

“Oh.” She said softly. “You got your ears pierced. It looks...” she searched for the best option. “Nice?” she could hear the questioning tone in her voice and made a mental note to somehow learn to be less of a loser some time in the near future, if possible. 

“Marinette likes them,” Adrien sniffed in Nino's direction. 

“Dude, that was not her saying she liked them, she's just too nice to tell you that you look like you got rejected from a boy band.”

“Stop.”

Nino put both hands out, using them to frame Adrien. “Aahh, I can just see it now. You serenading all the girls as they go wild, singing some song about...I don't know, dude...Alya, what do boy bands sing about?”

“You're asking _me_?” Her eyebrows arched, but she did look amused. 

“OOOOOH, ADDRIIIEEEEEN!” 

There was a collective wince among all four students as they heard Chloe come in the door. “Hey, Chloe, what do you think of Adrien's earrings?”

“He got me earrings!?” She looked excited for a moment, almost breaking into a sprint before reaching the others. Her face went from eager to puzzled at the realization that there were no earrings for her and then finally to wide eyed bewilderment when she saw that Adrien was wearing earrings. “Oh, no! No!”

“What?” He asked irritably. 

“No, you simply can't!” Chloe grabbed his arm and looped it through her own. “Normally I'd say you can pull off anything you want, Adrien, but earrings? It's so....90s!”

Alya made a face. “I hate when I agree with Chloe.” 

“I kind of like them,” Adrien insisted, unhooking his arm from Chloe's before taking his seat. He didn't, actually. He thought the earrings were uncomfortable and he didn't like how he looked in them. But as he'd told Plagg, he would keep the holes opened just in case. 

“Well, fine, but I'm getting you a more stylish pair than that, at least,” Chloe insisted, moving to take her seat and whipping out her cell phone. “Let's see....” she started typing away at the phone. “No, no, no...that would look great on me! ...No, no, no...”

Alya and Nino took their rightful seats as well as they waited for class to begin. Adrien turned his attention back to Marinette, partly so he wouldn't have to consider what kind of jewelry Chloe would be trying to get him into. “Were you able to finish your present?”

She nodded and mumbled something. 

“Ookay,” he shrugged and turned back to his own desk, taking out the papers for their next lesson and turning his tablet on. Marinette leaned forward and tapped him.

“Chat Noir pierced his ears recently, too,” She whispered. “I mean...I think he did. It's not like I know him or get that close to him! But uh...I know you really like him so it's cool you both have pierced ears...right? Uh, right. I...” she broke back into stammers before leaning back into her chair and turning her attention to her own tablet.

“How can she not see?!” Plagg hissed, popping his head out of Adrien's backpack. Adrien pushed him back in and shushed him. 

“Marinette already knows too much if she realized that Chat has the same piercings,” Adrien whispered back urgently, this time putting a finger to his lips before zipping his bag up with only a small hole for Plagg to see through. 

_These two make me want to bang my head against something!_ Plagg thought irritably. _Or it might be preferable to just bang_ their _heads together, then maybe something would get through to them._ He stuck one eye up to the small opening in the zipper and watched the classroom until the lecture started – these classes usually put him right to sleep. He thought things through, planning out his next movements for how to get Adrien and Marinette together. Once he felt he'd gotten things figured out, he allowed himself to nap.

 

Adrien couldn't find Plagg. It was six fifty at night and he had just gotten out of the shower – he wanted to look nice for tonight, after all. But while his Miraculous ring was still where it was supposed to be the Kwami that sometimes inhabited it was suspiciously missing. 

He tried to think back on the day, to remember when he'd last seen Plagg. Normally he would talk to his Kwami in the car on the way home from school and then as soon as they got into the house, but Adrien was now recalling guiltily that he'd been preoccupied with his meet up with Ladybug tonight. He hadn't seen Plagg since shortly after lunch break.

“Plagg?” Adrien called again. He dressed before continuing to look, calling out for Plagg every few minutes. “I have Camembert?” He tried everything he could think of that usually got Plagg's attention, up to and including allowing him to eat in the classroom and even an offer to let the cat creature watch even more television than he already did. 

But nothing was working. 

Adrien looked under his own bed, he looked in the guest room – he even chanced looking in his father's room. Nothing. Absolutely no sign of Plagg anywhere. Adrien checked his phone to see seven thirty flashing at him from the screen. He groaned. He couldn't keep Ladybug waiting and he only had thirty minutes to get there. And now he couldn't go as Chat Noir so he'd probably end up walking. 

Part of him wanted to go looking for Plagg, but he also knew that Plagg was not likely to be in trouble. He could cause bad luck and be generally annoying, but he wasn't likely to actively cause any real problems or get into them himself. They would just have to be separated for tonight. “Oh well,” he said mostly to himself. “It might be nice not to have him around toni--...”

He stopped in his tracks, his hand still reaching for the front door knob. No Plagg also meant no transformation. He was either going to have to stay home or he was going to have to meet Ladybug as Adrien. After a long moment of contemplation, he grabbed the knob and twisted. 

Hopefully just Adrien was enough.

 

“It's so crowded,” Alya complained, going on her tip toes to try to see over one of the many couples that was pushed in around her and her own boyfriend. The Eiffel Tower, it would seem, was quite the popular Valentine's Destination. 

“It's Valentine's Day,” Nino responded, shaking his head before putting a hand on her shoulder. “Relax. If Mari---our friend,” he corrected at the dark look Alya was giving him, “Is coming here and so is our other friend and they're dressed the way you think they will be, they'll be pretty easy to spot. They're famous.”

“They're going to be here, and they're going to be here as Chat Noir and Ladybug,” Alya crossed her arms. “I'm sure of it – and don't you dare bring up that time with Chloe, I'm allowed to be wrong some times. I'm right this time, though.” Her expression was too fierce to broker any argument. Instead Nino gave her a half smile and resumed people watching. He poked Alya after a moment and then pointed – Adrien had arrived. Nino started to wave, but Alya grabbed his arm and pulled it down before dragging him behind a particularly tall couple. 

“He can't know we're here!”

“Fine, fine. But I'm just going to point out – he's not dressed in a leather cat suit.”

“That doesn't prove anything,” she said insistently. She peered from behind the couple, feeling grateful that the pair were too in love and in the moment to notice anything odd going on around them. “Is he with anyone yet?”

“Nope. He's alone.”

Adrien dodged between couples, eyes peeled for the typical flash of red and black of Ladybug's outfit. He knew she might be at the top of the tower, sitting outside on a part inaccessible to non superpowered humans. In fact he kept glancing up, expecting to see her up there. But she wasn't there either. 

It was during another glance up towards the top that he ran into her – literally. She grabbed his hand to stop him from falling. “Ladybug!”

“Oh. Adrien. ...” She glanced around nervously. “I mean, that's your name, right? Adrien?” It was posed as a question, but he did notice it lacked the same inflection questions usually had. It sounded more like a statement. “You did say you were meeting someone here tonight too...” 

He cocked his head to the side. “What?”

“Nothing! Sorry, have you seen Chat Noir? I'm supposed to meet him here...”

“Yeah,” Well, it wasn't technically a lie, he reasoned. He'd seen himself in the mirror today, so technically he'd seen Chat Noir. “Listen, he said something about it being too crowded here. That you should meet him on ...he said a usual roof top you meet up on? Said you'd know what he was talking about?”

“Oh. Oh!” She nodded as she caught on, “Thank you! I hope your night goes well.”

“I think it will,” He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I hope yours does as well.” He watched as she ran off, wondering if this could possibly work out the way he wanted it to. He started to turn around to go meet her at the building they often frequented (Did it have a fire escape he could climb up? He found he suddenly couldn't remember) when he spotted Alya and Nino. He gave them a confused smile and a small wave. They returned the action as best as they could – Alya had pulled her phone out and started recording the second Ladybug had arrived on the scene. 

Figuring it was best not to keep Ladybug waiting, Adrien took off at a run, darting and weaving in between the couples strolling around Paris. He silently cursed Plagg, both because this would be faster as Chat Noir and because he wasn't certain Ladybug would believe him without the Kwami.

 

Ladybug sat on the roof top, picking nervously at one of the spots on her costume with her right hand as her left kept closing more and more tightly on the bag she carried. She heard the roof top door open behind her and smiled – but no one came out. The door remained slightly ajar, with someone hiding behind the door. She could see a shape there, but couldn't make out who it was. 

“Ladybug?”

“Chat?”

“...Sort of. Do you remember when we fought Animan?”

“What about it?”

“You stuffed a car jack into a Tyrannosaurus Rex's mouth. It was one of the scariest days of my life.” It was Chat's voice. She was certain of that. She just didn't know why he wasn't coming out to talk to her. 

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” He paushed. “Maybe. I just wanted to talk about a time where it was just the two of us there. Like when we fought Climatika on the roof top. I need you to know that this is me. Look...my Kwami, Plagg. He didn't come home today. I don't know where he went off to. I'm not transformed right now. I wanted to come see you anyway, especially since without him I don't have a way to reach you. I want to run out there right now but you've said before that we shouldn't know each other's identities. So I'll stay here unless you tell me it's okay to come out.”

Ladybug moved from sitting cross legged to kneeling as she considered her options. Tikki had told her from the first day that it was best for no one to know her true identity. But Tikki had also said that ultimately the decision would have to be Marinette's to make. 

“Ladybug?” She wasn't sure how long she'd been quiet for, but it had been long enough to make him nervous, judging from his voice. 

“You already know me, Chat,” she unfastened the bag that held the plush. She pulled it out quickly and then closed her eyes before facing his direction. She mentally prepared herself before opening her eyes. 

“Well,” Adrien Agreste said as he stood before her, looking both at her and the cat plush she was holding. “I guess the cat's out of the bag...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I made a cat's out of the bag pun and you bet your bottom dollar that's part of why she made him a plush cat in the first place (aside from the obvious)
> 
> And now you have to wait for the full reaction because that's gotta be a full chapter. It just has to be. So most likely I will be posting that on Saturday. Thank you for all kudos/comments and page views!


	8. Earriplaceable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to where this whole drive was leading

She hadn't meant that he already knew her in a literal sense – just that Chat knew her better than anyone else, got the sides of her that sometimes as Marinette she was too shy to show. She hadn't expected that he really _did_ know her. She had started to hold the plush out to Adrien, but now her arms were paused in mid air as she tried to take the whole situation in.

He smiled and took the plush from her, examining it. He looked at it from all angles before looking back up at Ladybug. They both stood there, frozen. And in both of their minds, things were starting to click. 

Ladybug was thinking about how he had shown up so quickly when her Uncle had become Kung Food, even though the entrances had been sealed with caramel at the time. How he seemed to show up so quickly when there was trouble at their school...Then each other little piece of the puzzle was rapidly falling into place. 

Adrien was having his own moment, a small groan coming from him as he remembered the time he'd had to protect Marinette against the Artist and how Ladybug had some sort of 'top secret' mission at the time that she couldn't tell him about. Or how no one had seen her get taken the time Mylène had been Akumatized. Or all the other little signs he had managed to miss over the last several months.

“Marinette?” 

She didn't answer. For a moment, she considered that maybe if she didn't affirm her identity, he wouldn't realize the truth. 

“I can't take this any more!” Came a voice from inside the bag Ladybug had carried the plush in. Plagg stuck his head out first, glaring first at Ladybug and then at Adrien before wiggling himself entirely free. 

“Where have you been?” Adrien crossed his arms and regarded the Kwami sternly. 

“Relax, I was in Marinette's bag since school ended. I wasn't going to go off that far. And you're changing the subject,” he crossed his arms and floated between Adrien and Ladybug's line of vision. “He already knows it's you, he saw you sewing it in class,” he said to Ladybug, indicating the plush that was still in Adrien's hands. “Tikki, you know they both know by now...”

There was a flash of light as Ladybug transformed back into Marinette. Tikki gave Marinette a guilty smile. “Plagg's right. He knows it's you now, Marinette. And you two need to talk about this,” she gave a reassuring smile first to Marinette and then to Adrien. “Plagg and I will be going.”

“But what if we need you?” Adrien pointed out. “Alya wasn't wrong when she said this is probably going to be an active night for Hawk Moth.”

“We'll be on the next roof top,” Tikki suggested. “All you'll have to do is yell. Plagg will hear you, even if I can't,” she gave Plagg a rather dirty look, “And he will be honest about whether or not he actually heard you.”

“Fine, fine. No spying,” the cat creature pouted, following Tikki from their current roof top. He knew he was about to get an earful about being responsible and not entrapping their chosen. He composed himself so that hopefully the pride in what he was done wouldn't show through. 

When the Kwamis had both made their exit, Adrien and Marinette stood in silence, staring at each other. 

“I can't believe I didn't see this,” Adrien chuckled, moving to close the space between himself and Marinette. She took an instinctive step back. “I'll stay over here if you want me to.”

“Huh? Oh. No. I....Umm...” She plopped herself down into a criss-crossed seating position and patted the ground next to her, motioning for him to sit. His smile grew and he sat as near her as he thought she would be able to handle. Her face was turning a fascinating shade of red, and he was hoping that it was a good thing. 

“I'm sorry,” he said after another moment of silence. 

“What? You don't have anything to be sorry about! I...I should be sorry!” She had nothing to be sorry about either, actually. But she didn't like the sad look that had crossed Adrien's face at that moment. She wanted to do something to comfort him – her first inclination was a hug, but she thought her head might explode from that close of contact with him so soon. Instead she gave him an awkward pat on the back.

“Why should you be sorry? You were very nice to me in school whenever we spoke, but I feel like maybe I ignored you a little? It should have been so obvious,” he repeated. “I mean you don't look that different without the mask. But you seemed so shy...” he winced. “Was that rude?”

She shook her head and moved so that her legs were extended in front of her with her knees up. She set her hands on her knees and took a deep breath. “I was ...am shy. But I feel braver as Ladybug,”

“You're plenty brave yourself!” 

She smiled but shook her head. 

“No, really. That time when Max became the Gamer? Or the time with the Artist? That was all Marinette, without being Ladybug. You were amazing,” he playfully nudged his shoulder into hers. “Which is why I'm beating myself up right now. I really should have seen it.”

“It's okay,” she chuckled, “You know, Alya once told me she thought you might be Chat Noir. She even took some of your modeling pictures and painted the Chat clothes over them. I still didn't see it. You change your hair and I've never heard you make a pun as Adrien,” She considered it momentarily. “Although maybe that's for the best.”

“Aww, I like puns,” He was moving in closer to her. It was a subconscious action, so both were surprised when his arm went around her waist. He couldn't remember making the decision to do it. But he was glad he did, especially when she melted into him, her head resting on his shoulder. “Thank you for the plush, by the way. I'm sorry I didn't get you anything.”

Marinette was still struggling to find the words. Adrien had always had this effect on her, and knowing that he was Chat Noir somehow doubled it. She wasn't entirely surprised – hadn't she been worrying just earlier that day that she might be in love with both Chat _and_ Adrien? It was no wonder, really. 

“Cat got your tongue?”

“Stop it.”

“Okay, but tell me – do you feel as dumb as I do right now? That neither one of us saw it before now?” He was thinking back now on all the supposedly 'sly' hints that Plagg had given him and realized that if he'd been paying even a tiny bit more attention he would have realized that his Lady sat behind him in class almost every day. 

Marinette nodded. “I should have put it together after you got your ears pierced, at least. Do you actually like having those?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. But I figured it was an emergency. And if something happens again I'd rather not have to go through that a second time. Tikki was as gentle as she could be about it, but it didn't help that we both started yelling when some blood came out. Also, ice cubes? Don't numb as well as you think they do.”

“Tikki pierced them?”

“Desperate times, desperate measures.”

“That's amazing...that you'd do that, I mean. I just had to put your ring on.” She still wasn't making eye contact, but he think he had an idea for how to get her to pay attention. 

“Well, I am _earriplaceable_.”

She groaned. “And it starts. I thought the puns might be part of your super powers and that maybe I wouldn't have to hear them when you're out of the cat suit.” He noticed that her body was more relaxed now, but she still wasn't looking at him. He smirked. 

“Do you come ear often?”

“That one wasn't even good...”

“So you admit the last one was!” He said triumphantly. He sat the plush cat on the other side of him before putting both arms around Marinette and giving her a squeeze. He put his mouth near her ear and whispered “I still love you, either way. _Both_ sides of you. Ladybug and Marinette. I just want you to know that.”

She tried to resist it, but a shiver went up her spine and she smiled in spite of herself. She still felt shy and wasn't sure how to respond, but she also felt so....relieved right now. “Adrien, I....um...”

He waited. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was certain she could hear it by now, or at least feel it due to how close they were. She seemed to get flustered and she hung her head instead of continuing her line of thought. But he saw that she was smiling. “You don't have to tell me today, my Lady. Besides, I think I already have my answer.”

“You're too confident, Kitty,” hiding her face from him made her feel a little more brave, or at least enough to try to engage him again. 

“Should I not be?” 

She didn't answer. Instead she moved her hands from her face and let her head slide down to his chest, resting there. She wrapped her arms around his waist as well and they sat there, both of them blissfully happy but aware the moment would have to end soon. “Is this going to go back to the way it usually is?” Marinette said, leaning up and finally looking Adrien in the eye. “I don't want to get back to school on Monday and feel like I was dreaming. But if we act differently, is there a chance people would know?”

“Know about what? Us being together?”

At the word 'together', Marinette looked away, the blush coming back fully to her face. She tried to shake it away as she spoke. “No. I mean...is there some chance this could lead to people realizing we're Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

Adrien considered, then shook his head. “I don't see why. They'll just notice that Ladybug and Chat Noir also happen to be dating each other.”

“Dating? We're uh...”

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Adrien winced. “It just kind of fell out. I shouldn't assume...”

“I'dliketodateyou,” The words poured out of Marinette before she felt she had even chosen to say them. Adrien cupped her chin in his hand, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. “What?” She asked after a moment, not sure what the sudden glint in his eyes meant. He pulled her face to his until their lips met. Once again, she thought she was melting into him and her mind seemed to float away. Instinctively, her eyes closed as she lost herself in the kiss.

“Plagg!” Came Tikki's surprisingly sharp and irritated cry. The teens broke apart suddenly, wearing identical expressions that were a mix of joy and embarrassment. Plagg had snuck back onto the roof top with Tikki following closely after him. 

“Was there an attack?” Marinette asked, trying to regain her composure. Adrien felt no such pressure and continued to lounge against the side of the building, replaying the kiss over and over again in his mind. 

Tikki shook her head, “No, Plagg just doesn't understand about privacy.”

“I had to make sure they were actually moving forward without someone there to push them,” Plagg insisted, landing on Adrien's knee and studying the boy carefully. “Ah. Yes, they finally got there. Took 'em long enough....”

“Plagg,” Tikki said warningly. 

“You were just as sick of it as I was,” he said defensively. “Marinette, are you offended by our interfering? You don't look as goofy right now as Adrien does, but you certainly don't look unhappy. I dare say the whole project was a success.”

“You were trying to push us together?” Marinette asked, more than a little surprised. “I thought you were disgusted by this love thing and didn't want him...what did you call it? 'Mooning' over me?”

“It was going to happen sooner or later,” Plagg shrugged.

Tikki rolled her eyes, but didn't mention that Plagg had actually schemed pretty hard for this. Instead, she said “Marinette, I hate to interrupt but it is getting very late and since there's no villain and your parents decided not to have a date night tonight...”

“I should be getting home,” Marinette finished the Kwami's thought. “You're right, Tikki.”

“Could I walk you?” Adrien asked hopefully. “I mean, we live pretty close to each other, it wouldn't be any trouble and I--” He didn't want to be away from her so soon, he was about to say. He also wanted to mention he rarely ever wanted to be away from her side again, but Marinette was still blushing and while he now felt confident she felt the same, she also would probably appreciate a slower pace. Or so he assumed, anyway. 

“That would be nice, Adrien,” Marinette agreed, her body going stiff when his hand grasped hers. 

“Did you not want to hold hands? I guess it is a little public, sorry,” He ran the fingers of his free hand through his hair, but he didn't let go. In response, she gave his hand a squeeze and led him back through the door.

They walked in silence. Marinette was finally starting to feel less shy, but both were feeling perfectly content just to hold hands and enjoy each others presence. It was when they reached the front door of the bakery that the sense of joy started to finally ebb away – it was still there, but now overshadowed by them having to say goodbye for the night. 

“I could call you when I get home,” he offered. 

“I'd like that,” Marinette rocked back and forth on her feet for a moment before pressing a quick kiss on his lips. “I should go inside.”

Adrien nodded and then waved to her as he watched her go through the front door. He stood there even after it closed, beaming after her even though she could no longer see him. 

“Are you going to stand here all night?” Plagg complained – he was hiding in Adrien's shirt collar and it was starting to get hot. 

“No, Plagg. Let's go home. I owe you a ton of cheese...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all reads, reviews and comments! One more chapter both to set up for the sequel and because I probably want to write something with Marinette's parents (Did they see the kiss? Maybe! Do they ship Adrien/Marinette? They totally do)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the final chapter and it should be all about happiness. But Alya has a warning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so before you read technically some minor Origin spoilers. If you don't want them, please don't read the chapter! It's nothing huge, to be honest but it might be enough to bother you so please wait to read it if you don't want any spoilers. And yes, this is the final chapter - it could easily lead into more but since I wanted this story to primarily be romance I wanted to separate the sequel out (title is still being worked on, I'll put that information here once I have it).

Marinette wasn't surprised when Alya grabbed her arm Monday the moment she had arrived at school. It wasn't out of character for her best friend, and Marinette assumed Alya would want a replay of what had happened on Valentine's. She hadn't yet told Alya about finally being together with Adrien – partly because wanting to do it face-to-face and partly because she wasn't entirely convinced that night hadn't been a dream, despite the numerous texts from Adrien the last few days that proved it was reality.

But what did surprise her was how Alya forcefully dragged her over to one of the unused classrooms and slammed the door shut behind the pair of them. Marinette realized that they weren't alone – Adrien and Nino were there as well, Adrien looking just as confused as she felt and Nino looking embarrassed. Alya reopened the door and ducked her head out, making sure there was no one passing by before she slammed it shut again. She tensed up at the sound and realized she should have done it more softly, but right now there were more important things to attend to.

“Is everything all right?” Marinette finally asked, figuring that somehow Alya had found out about Valentine's and was now about to tear into the new couple for not immediately alerting her. But Alya had started pacing back and forth. 

“No,” Alya continued to pace until she reached Nino, who stopped her in her tracks and gave her a supportive smile. She gave his hand a squeeze before whirling on Adrien first. “We know.”

“We were going to tell you-” Adrien started.

“It just happened so fast,” Marinette added in. 

“I know she's your best friend, but surely you trust me to treat her right?” Adrien's eyes reminded Marinette of a pleading puppy at the moment. But it didn't seem to be the answer Alya wanted to hear right now.

“No, not ---wait, are you two together?!” Alya bounced a little on the spot before shaking the excitement off. “Well, I want that story after this one.”

“So we're not here because we're dating?” Adrien asked. Alya shook her head and when he glanced at Nino the other boy shook his head as well. “I'm sorry, but I'm not following here. What did you need us for?” 

“You guys are Chat Noir and Ladybug-” she seemed to anticipate that both would protest and she held her hands up and gave her most ferocious look. It was enough to silence both of them. “No fighting me on this. There are so many coincidences that it has to be you – everyone in our class has been turned into a villain except you two. Every time you two randomly miss class, it's during an attack!” she closed the distance between her and Marinette and grabbed her best friend's hands, her gold eyes searching the blue ones carefully. “Please don't lie to me. If you say you're not Ladybug, I'll believe you but I won't forgive you if you keep lying to me. I realize why you wouldn't have wanted me to know, but right now this is too important. So tell me the truth - Are you Ladybug?”

It was a harsh threat, but one Marinette could sympathize with – as much as she hated liars herself, she'd been lying an almost insane amount since she'd gotten her Miraculous. “It's true.”

While Alya had been grilling the superheroes, Nino had sat down on a desk in the corner – he promptly fell off at Marinette's admission. “Wait. WHAT?! She's right this time?!”

“If you do not let that Chloe thing go, I swear-” Alya started, but it was Adrien's turn to interrupt.

“I'm sorry we lied to both of you for so long,” he extended a hand to Nino to help him up. Nino took it and once standing started glancing back and forth between Adrien and Marinette. He hadn't believed Alya - he had assumed she was jumping to crazy conclusions again. So at first the truth hit him like a wrecking ball, but he quickly changed gears and went through the same moment the other three had - the moment of feeling incredibly stupid. He examined each piece of evidence again and fought back a groan before coming around again to tune back into the conversation. 

“I'm sorry, too.” Alya admitted, embracing Marinette tightly, “I'm sure you were scared I'd tell everybody on the Ladyblog, but I promise I won't,” she released her and studied Marinette again carefully. “But don't lie to me again.”

“Ok,” Marinette agreed, giving Alya another hug in return. “Did you want to hear about Valentine's day?”

“Is that when you got together?” Alya practically squealed. Adrien shook his head, but both girls saw the happy smile that contradicted it. But now it was Nino who brought the conversation away from the pleasantries of Valentine's and back to superhero talk. 

“Alya. You were right about their identities, so maybe you were right about...” he trailed off, expecting her to jump in at any moment. When she didn't, he continued. “Adrien, don't you think it's strange that so many people in our school have been made into villains? More specifically, how many from _our_ class?”

Adrien looked pensive for a moment, but then shook his head. “It is an odd coincidence, but I'm not sure where you're going with this.”

“It wasn't my train of thought, it was Alya's,” Nino gestured at Alya as a sign that she should take the lead. She nodded.

“The other reason why we're confronting you is that I don't think it's just chance that's making Hawk Moth use so many of our classmates. I think he can sense you, but ...it's more of the absence of you?” She groaned. “Ugh, this isn't coming out right!”

Marinette was trying to follow, but Adrien looked like he got there sooner. “So you think he can sense that a power source is somewhere near the school, but can't track it down to an exact person?”

Alya nodded. “That or he can't sense it, he's just figured out enough to realize that you guys must be here. And I think he's getting pretty close – like I said, you are the only two left in class that haven't been changed.”

“Marinette,” Tikki poked her head out of Marinette's bag. Nino's eyes looked ready to bulge out of their sockets and Alya's mouth had opened as they both stared at the Kwami. 

“She's so cute!” Alya commented. Tikki smiled at the compliment and pulled herself out of the bag the rest of the way before deciding to perch on Alya's shoulder.

“I'm Tikki,” she introduced herself, then shot a look towards Adrien's bag. “Plagg, you should come out, too.”

There was a groan as Plagg crawled out of his bag as well. He frowned at Tikki before taking his place on Adrien's shoulder. “I was taking a nap,” he whined. 

“You can take a nap later,” Adrien snorted. “Right now this is more important. Alya and Nino think that--”

“I heard, I heard,” Plagg waved it off as though it were no big deal. Tikki, however, looked alarmed.

“This could be a very big problem,” She gave Alya a small smile. “You're very smart to have figured this out, and I believe you're right,” she addressed Marinette and Adrien now “Your powers should have kept you hidden from Hawk Moth, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't have been able to figure things out from clues. There are only so many schools in France and after picking more than a few villains from here by accident he probably figured it out and started actively choosing students from this school and then your class. We can only hope he doesn't know how many students are in the class, or he may have figured it out already.”

“And my telling everybody that History book is only used at our school probably didn't help matters,” Alya groaned. “Do you think he follows the Ladyblog?”

“Hawk Moth? On Ladyblog?” Nino chuckled. “I have a hard time picturing it.”

“It's not impossible,” Tikki admitted. “But you had no way of knowing either way, Alya.” Alya nodded her acceptance, but she couldn't help the guilty pang she now felt in her chest. 

“Is there anything Nino and I can do to help?” 

“You could get me some Camembert, I'm famished,” Plagg suggested. Nino laughed again, but Adrien and Alya both gave the cat Kwami identical annoyed looks. 

“I'm not sure what you could do,” Marinette said gently, putting a hand on Alya's shoulder. “Besides, I wouldn't want you to get hurt.”

“We don't want you two getting hurt, either!” Nino and Alya said in such perfect unison that Adrien and Marinette both smiled. They were having the same realization of just how great their best friends really were. 

“If there's anything you guys can do, we'll let you know,” Adrien promised. “Thank you for warning us about this. It was very intuitive of you to figure it out, Alya.”

Alya crossed her arms. “Flattery is not enough to convince me you're good enough for my best friend.” She glanced at said best friend to see the pretty shade of pink Marinette's entire face was now turning. 

“What, really?” Adrien cocked his head.

Alya laughed at his sudden worried expression. “Relax, I'm only teasing. And I still want to know everything – but...I think,” she pulled out her cell phone and checked the time before nodding. “Nope, I now _know_ that we are all late to class. At least you two won't be alone in that respect for once.”

The group walked to class together, but only after Marinette and Adrien had both sworn to tell Alya both every last detail of their first Valentine's together as well as insider information on being a super hero. 

They all endured the lecture about being late – Madam Bustier was especially harsh on Marinette and Adrien as the pair now had a reputation for never arriving on time - and then each of them went to take their seats. Before Marinette could sit down, Adrien passed her a note. He was still turned around watching her as she started reading. She blushed at the nature of the note, just one sappy reminder that he loved her. She returned his smile and he turned back to face the teacher, looking satisfied. . Marinette saw Chloe from her peripheral vision giving her a death glare, but she took it in stride. She picked up the note and waved it at Chloe, giving the blonde the sweetest smile she could muster. Chloe continued to glare, but Marinette shrugged it off before returning to her school work.

For once, she didn't feel anxious about the fact that Adrien sat right in front of her. She was still in love with him – perhaps even more so than she had felt previously. But that particular fight was won. He loved her back ( _He loves me back!_ she thought, putting a hand to her heart and reliving Valentine's for what must have been the hundredth time since it had happened). 

But now a threat was looming. Hawk Moth had always been the major concern as Ladybug, but now there was a chance he would come into her life as Marinette as well. She couldn't shake the feeling that Alya was right.

And in a chamber not far from the school, Hawk Moth was studying a scroll carefully, a smile coming to his lips that his Kwami had learned long ago meant trouble. “I know where they are and I know how to get what I need,” he slammed his right fist into his open palm before letting his head roll back a sigh of relief coming out of him. “It took me long enough, but I know for sure now. And with this,” he gestured at the scroll, “Now I know exactly how to flush them out and make them give me what I want.”

 

**The End for now**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! So not much romance in this chapter cause it mostly leads into the sequel. I decided to cut Tom and Sabine as I'm hoping I'll get more of a chance to play around with them in the next story rather than just an immediate reaction. I really appreciate your reading, comments and kudos. I'll be posting probably a few one shots before I post the sequel - I want to wait until Origins has officially aired in France as there will be spoilers from the season as a whole in the new story.


End file.
